Breakthrough
by Nightlance
Summary: It has been over a year since the Avengers saved Earth from the Chitauri invasion and all seems well, but when the humans themselves inadvertently create a new threat the heroes must come together once again. When the situation gets out of hand, they find help in the most unlikely of places.
1. Research

All characters © Marvel Comics

* * *

Dusty.

That was the best word Tony Stark could come up with as he was led through a veritable labyrinth of tunnels beneath an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Manhattan. At least it was abandoned to the _public_, most S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives knew better. They had constructed this site after last year's attack on the city for research purposes, earning some spiteful remarks from the resident genius superhero. Tony's facilities should have been enough for their needs, thank you very much, but they just _had _to have their own location. Perhaps he didn't offer enough control to Fury for their ornery director's taste, he mused. Tony wasn't sure if he would be willing to offer up Stark Tower to S.H.I.E.L.D. anyway.

The reconstruction all over the city was perfect for carrying out such clandestine projects, since most people wouldn't be worried about a warehouse considering the amount of work that had to be done. The civilians of New York City were too busy panicking over the restoration of Grand Central Station in the wake of the leviathan that had crashed through its front doors to care about what was going on in the city's periphery.

"I hope this is as important as you say it is. Seriously, did you have to wake me up at ten in the morning for this?" Tony said, keeping up with the two swift-footed agents leading him through the halls, suppressing a shiver. It was winter, and the cold reached them even in these sheltered tunnels. "Are you boys in some sort of hurry?"

Natasha was trailing behind the three looking attentive as usual. Tony was lucky he wasn't walking behind her; Agent Romanoff's lithe movements would have him too distracted to jab at the quiet agents. That wouldn't be much fun, would it? He suddenly found himself wishing Pepper had been invited to the super-secret meeting to lighten the mood.

"Alright, maybe ten o'clock isn't so bad. But seriously, I didn't even get a chance to grab my coffee."

He paused to give the agents a chance to apologize. They didn't.

"Hey, is there a dress code for this organization? I don't think I got the memo about 'dark and mysterious' garb. What ever happened to wearing sweats in the workplace? Tee-shirts are in this season, you might want to consider having casual Thursdays or-"

"Do you ever stop talking Stark?"

Tony turned and smirked at Natasha, crossing his arms as the little entourage finally came to what looked like an elevator. He hoped it was more reliable than it looked, because the thing looked rickety as hell. S.H.I.E.L.D. had rushed this construction; it was a small miracle that the underground facilities had been completed in little over a year. Tony made a mental note to offer his tech to Fury next time the director decided to do something fast and half-assed. If he was feeling benevolent.

"You know what? I take it back, Thursdays should stay professional. Thor wouldn't approve of us if we messed with his day."

As they stepped into the elevator Tony couldn't help but notice the tense look on Natasha's face. He had a moment to wonder about this before the lift jolted to life and began to descend. At least there were no more stairs from here, Tony had had his fill of those just to get down to the upper levels of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new bunker.

"Is anyone going to talk to me? Please don't tell me Fury's taken my life-model decoy idea seriously. He hasn't replaced his agents with robots, right?"

Natasha scoffed and rolled her eyes. At least it looked like she did to Tony, the movement was so quick it was difficult for him to be sure. It was beginning to unnerve him that she was so edgy, she would usually offer up snarky responses right back at him. Her silence must surely indicate trouble. The gears were spinning rapidly in Tony's mind as they finally arrived at the lower levels of the facility.

* * *

"Banner, what's our status?"

Nick Fury was standing behind an array of screens, all glowing with various readings. In the relatively dim light of their makeshift control center the panels illuminated the man with a soft, eerie glow. All around were other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in various stages of diverse tasks. Most of them were only there to take readings and categorize research. Fury's question had been directed to what seemed to be a large, circular room closed off with glass that was situated in the center of the room.

The doctor raised a hand in Fury's direction in a silent request for time. Nick could truly be impatient sometimes, and Bruce would be lying if he said that demanding voice coming through the intercom didn't irk him. He did his best to keep himself focused on their research. Namely the Chitauri armor laid out on an examination table before him, and the Chitauri corpse a few feet away on an identical table. S.H.I.E.L.D. had done a wonderful job in preserving this specimen and Bruce was certain there were more of them in the organization's possession, but he wasn't privileged enough to know that kind of information. His task was to study the way the alien biological armor worked. So far, the doctor had discovered a great many things about both the Chitauri as a race and their technology, such as the way their so-called armor integrated with their nervous system and their complex physiological structure. He had to admit, though, that their visage never failed to send a chill down his spine. Bruce made a point to look everywhere but the creature's face when examining it.

"Doctor, I don't mean to rush you, but we're in a hurry here. You yourself said that body might not last if it's kept out too long."

Fury's blunt voice cut through Banner's thoughts, forcing a sigh from the man.

"_Might _not. I just wanted to take another look at its rate of decay, Director. It's remarkably slow, even considering the stasis it's been in. I can't explain it."

Bruce walked around the first table to the second, looking at the screen that showed him readings much like Fury's did. Stark tech, of course. It was remarkable how much information these scanners could glean from their subjects. As he suspected, the corpse was in nearly perfect condition, almost as it had been the day they collected the aliens from the streets. Something about it seemed… wrong. Bruce couldn't put a finger on it, but he knew something was going on with the dead creature. No matter how alien a being, it still had cells and a physical body. It should be breaking down by now, over a year after its death. No, it didn't just _seem_wrong… This was definitely wrong.

The alien wasn't the only thing out of place in this underground laboratory.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was notorious for experimenting with unknowns, but why they wanted access to the Chitauri's advanced biotechnology was beyond him. Surely they weren't planning on using it… were they? He also wondered why Fury had one of Tony Stark's old Iron Man suits and an arc reactor in the same lab. Then again, they had a mixture of Hydra and Chitauri weapons stashed here too, which S.H.I.E.L.D. had sworn never to experiment with again after the last 'Phase Two' incident. Bruce figured all the extra stuff was there for storage. Hopefully.

* * *

Tony was stunned, though only momentarily, by the interior of the lower levels of this base. He took everything back about what he thought before, this place _was _impressive. While the upper levels were mere passage ways, the lower levels were committed solely to research and development. Everything down here looked high-tech and positively sterile, like some twisted, not-bright-enough hospital. Creepy. At least it was spacious for an underground building. He had to admit, they had done a good job of creating this place in the time they'd had to do it, but they had no sense of style. The dim, blue light gave this place a very bad vibe.

Natasha took the lead from here, allowing the other two agents to trail behind. Most of these rooms had very large windows facing the hallway, and Tony could see busy workers inside nearly every one of them. They reminded Tony of insects working in a colony by the way they bustled about, handling little bits of nondescript technology even he wasn't familiar with. He felt very much like a kid in a candy store as he passed each room, longing to stop and watch through the glass. No, not just look, he wanted to get his hands on whatever these scientists were working on. It suddenly dawned on him that the excessive escort was probably to prevent him from doing just that; Natasha could lead him to wherever they were going on her own, but he needed more than one babysitter to keep him from stopping at every new room they came across.

"Director Fury's waiting for you, Mister Stark, if you wouldn't mind _not _slowing down to gawk at everything."

Tony looked back at Natasha, frowning.

"I don't gawk. That's not something I do, ever. It'd be nice if you'd tell me what I'm going to look at. Is this a consultation thing again? I hope not, those are so dull when there's no drinks. Hang on, is this a surprise party? I hope you know my birthday was in March. Well you should know, Agent Romanoff, you were at that one party I threw a few years back. Would've been great if Pepper hadn't crashed it and Rhodey hadn't stolen my suit. I mean, I know it was wild but let's be honest here, I thought I was dying at the time-"

He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Natasha's scowl. It would be wise to stop rambling right about now, but since when was Tony ever wise?

"Are you mad at me? It's either that or something's going on, and I'd like to know what's got you in full serious mode."

The quartet stopped at what looked to be a heavily fortified door at the end of the hallway. This room, unlike the others, didn't have windows. The two nameless agents split off to a different hallway while Natasha keyed in some code on the door's keypad, then allowed her eye to be scanned. There was a faint unlocking sound and the door gave an imperceptible jolt. Before opening it, though, she turned toward Tony.

"If I tell you something can you keep your mouth shut?" Her voice was lower than usual, nearly a whisper.

No, of course he couldn't.

"Yes, of course I can." Tony said, nodding to himself as if affirming his own statement. He made a mental note to tell Pepper everything later.

Natasha sighed and looked around, hesitant. How uncharacteristic of her. "Fury's looking at something that I don't think we're ready to handle, Stark. Usually I'd go along with his plans, but this…? I don't know. You'll see."

Without giving him time to question she opened the door, revealing the control room. At first glance it reminded Tony of the Helicarrier's bridge, only darker and full of scientists. They were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, he supposed, but they looked geekier than the usual grunts Tony had the pleasure of interacting with. And there was a big lab in the center of it all. Neat. His eyes found Fury almost immediately- well of course they did, that overcoat-with-eyepatch look was hard to miss. Tony and Natasha made their way to where the director was standing, overlooking the enclosed space below. Bruce Banner looked up from his work and smiled as the two entered the room, but Tony was too busy staring at the doctor's subject to return the expression. He recognized it all too well.

"Nick, mind telling me why we've got a dead alien down there? I thought we were getting rid of those things." He turned to look at Fury, who betrayed only the slightest annoyance at the informal greeting. Or lack thereof.

"Always a pleasure, Mister Stark." He gave the inventor a less-than-amused smirk before looking back down at Bruce. It seemed the doctor was wrapping up whatever he had been doing; agents entered the room from the other side and were in the process of covering up their specimens, no doubt to take them away to some super-secret storage.

"That was one of the bodies we uncovered after the attack, we've been studying its technology. We'd like to know how the mechanical parts of the creature integrate with its biology."

Stark listened to the director, but he wasn't sure if he believed Fury. Studying was harmless enough, but it wasn't in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nature to _just _study. They were like Tony; they couldn't just sit back and look, they needed their hands all over stuff.

"Yeah? Well that sounds great, why am I here then?" Tony gave Fury an incredulous look. He knew very well he wasn't needed for looking at some dead alien.

"We'd like you to collaborate with Doctor Banner on his research."

Like hell they did. He didn't believe Fury for a second, but since he was already here Tony figured he'd play along.

"Couldn't we just go back to my place for that? It's nothing personal, it's just that my place is better than your place. No offense."

Fury raised an eyebrow at him, which he took to mean 'shut up Stark.' As if that was going to happen. Tony was about to make some other sarcastic remark when Banner joined them. Man, that guy could really sneak around for someone who was harboring a giant green rage monster somewhere in the back of his mind. That was neat too. He gave Bruce a big, friendly grin.

"Hey there, long time no see! Boss says we're on E.T. duty together, can't wait."

Bruce gave Tony a bemused look. The inventor was rough around the edges, yes, but he appreciated how well they got along together. Part of this was certainly due to the fact that they could understand each other, and the doctor found this comforting. Tony didn't always see him as a creature.

Fury was staring at the two expectantly. "You'll be restricted to this location while you are working on the project, no information or technology is allowed to leave. Do you hear me Stark?"

"Loud and clear. When do we start?" Tony said, putting on his best excited face and adding a little inflection to his voice.

"Right now. Doctor Banner will show you what we've got so far. I expect a preliminary report on your new findings by five o'clock this afternoon." Oh good, the director was just assuming they would come up with new findings. High standards much? "And Stark..." Fury paused, giving the inventor a serious look, "Don't touch anything that isn't yours."

With that, the director and Natasha walked toward the entrance of the room, leaving the two brilliant men in the midst of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest scientists. Bruce looked at Tony, his former levity evaporating.

"Listen, I don't know why they called you in, but something's wrong here. It feels like they're hiding something."

Tony blinked.

"It always seems like they're hiding something Bruce, probably because they usually are. These people have already ruined my Friday."

"It's Saturday."

"See? That's much worse. Who works on Saturdays anyway?"

Bruce couldn't help but smile as he led his friend to one of the many panels Fury had previously been observing.

"They asked me to help them understand this technology. It's the closest thing we've seen to a cyborg, or whatever you want to call it. For now they've only asked me to figure out how it works..." He opened a file on one of the screens which contained a full diagram of the Chitauri armor and stepped aside so Tony could see. "Well, I already know."

Tony scrutinized the diagram closely, magnifying the image displayed to near microscopic levels. Bruce pointed to what looked like tiny filaments branching from the surface of the armor meant to lie against the Chitauri's skin.

"See these? They work exactly like fungal hyphae."

"Fungal what?" Tony said, frowning at the phrase. It wasn't often he came across a term he wasn't familiar with. Banner looked similarly surprised.

"You know, hyphae? Certain types of fungi use them to connect themselves to the roots of plants. It's a symbiotic thing..."

He trailed off as he noticed the lost look on Tony's face. The man was excellent at math and physics, but biology didn't seem to be a strength of his.

"Anyway, this armor connects itself to the Chitauri's nerves with the tiny filaments you see. It creates a circuit between the nerve itself and the armor."

Tony stood up straight and nodded. "Cool. Why haven't you told Fury yet?"

Bruce looked at the image, wringing his hands together in a moment of thought. "I don't think I should. Not yet. They're not just interested in research Tony, I have a feeling they're going to try to use this technology. We shouldn't say anything until we know what they're trying to accomplish."

"Well then," Tony said, maintaining his nonchalance as he pulled out his phone. More Stark tech, of course. "Let's see what Jarvis can find, shall we?"

The two of them grinned as Tony plugged his phone into the console before him. Now, all they had to do was bide their time until the inventor's mobile could collect the data they required. With any luck they wouldn't get caught.

* * *

**Hello! Thank you for reading (as I assume you have if you've gotten this far) and please feel free to leave comments.**

**I can only hope I've done these characters justice. Next chapter will be in Asgard, where we shall explore the fate of everyone's favorite Aesir brothers.**

**~Nightlance**


	2. Patience

All characters © Marvel Comics

* * *

All was quiet in Asgard.

All, that is, except for the riotous laughter coming from the great dining hall.

Torture. That was what this was. Torment of the most animalistic, cruel, _vile_ sort. He was a prince. A _king. _His father... no, not his father. That hideous creature called Odin. He had no right to treat a _king _like this. And yet here he was, standing before Sif and the warriors three. As a servant.

Loki. A servant to the house of Odin.

This was absolutely unacceptable.

Odin's other punishments paled in comparison to this. Banishment to Jotunheimr had been the first thing Loki was forced to endure upon his return to Asgard. It was tolerable; the cold didn't bother him at all, but the Jotuns didn't take kindly to the return of their traitorous, runty little prince. He _had _killed their king, so he couldn't blame them, but they made life rather difficult for him. After a time (a few Midgard months, perhaps) Odin called him back to serve his second and arguably worse sentence. Loki didn't like to think about it. It was among the only memories that could make him cringe, so naturally he tried to forget it. However, he would not soon forget being bound under a great serpent, watching helplessly as the venom dripped from those horrid fangs, and then only being able to feel as the poison destroyed his sight. Although his capabilities for healing extended well beyond the capacity of a mortal, the venom's marks still hadn't truly vanished. The skin around Loki's eyes was darkened slightly, and his eyes themselves were a dimmer shade than they used to be. Perhaps a bit more green than blue now. At least his sight had returned to him.

So when Odin freed him from his second torment, Loki had to admit that he was grateful. Grateful in that he didn't have to endure such physical pain and frustration anymore, grateful to be free again, and grateful, for once, that his adoptive father still had a scrap of mercy left in him. Until now.

Now, he was _forced _to offer food to a group of the most arrogant, shameless, and downright irritating Asgardians he'd ever known. Needless to say, Fandral and Volstagg found the whole situation hilarious. Sif was wearing an expression of superiority on her face that could only be described as repulsive. Predictably, Hogun was silent as the grave.

"Oh it's such a _shame _that the All-father reined in that silver tongue of yours." Fandral chuckled, smiling in an extremely irksome manner as he took a dainty bite of the pheasant Volstagg was currently tearing apart. "What ever shall we do without your tricks to aid us on our quests?"

_Dying would be the most optimal thing you could do, _Loki thought. As much as he'd like to remark, the trickster knew he would never earn Odin's trust by behaving like his usual self. If he never earned Odin's trust he could never get Odin to stop watching him so closely. If he couldn't do that, he couldn't escape this place. Asgard would never be home for Loki, not now. If he had to put on an act in the meantime, so be it. After all, lying happened to be a strength of his.

"Fandral, you jest!" Volstagg interposed with a mouth half-full of pheasant, looking ludicrously giddy. Food always made him that way. "We don't need his _trickery _in combat! Only a coward uses such methods; true warriors fight with their own strength."

_Magic _is _my strength; perhaps you would know that if you paid the slightest bit of attention to your surroundings. _Loki's face betrayed nothing as they laughed at him, though he found himself growing impatient. It didn't help that Sif cracked a smile at Volstagg's comment. She tried so very hard to be like them, to fight as well, to be worth as much… She must have enjoyed being in a room with someone weaker than she. Perhaps she felt stronger because of it. Pathetic. And to think she had caught his brother's eye in their youth… Thor's mortal woman was an improvement to one who so expertly lied to herself. Loki knew a liar when he saw one.

Loki still had use of his magic, yes, but Odin had promised the most severe of punishments should he even attempt to misuse it. This was generous of him indeed. Perhaps too lenient in light of his crimes, but the trickster wasn't about to complain. The only thing he detested was Odin's enchantment. The All-father had ensured that Heimdall would always be able to see Loki no matter how he tried to conceal himself. Inconvenient, yes, but as it was his only real leash he was willing to accept it. Loki was safe from Odin as long as he behaved.

"We would invite you to dine with us, but do we really want to be seen with someone so lowly?" Fandral jabbed, earning a snort from Volstagg.

_I would kill you all now, but I really must bide my time. Oh if only you knew the things I would do to you, the torments I have already imagined..._

"Now Fandral," Volstagg said…

_Make you watch as I kill your dearest friends and family…_

"…We mustn't be rude…"

_Find your deepest fears, the shadows that haunt your dreams…_

"…But I suppose, because it _is _Loki we are addressing…"

_Listen to your screams, your pleading, your agony…_

"…We need not feel remorse over it!"

_And finally, when you can no longer find the strength to beg, I will kill you with my bare hands._

The two friends laughed while their other companions looked on in amusement. They were quickly silenced, however, when Loki smiled. It was a simple, genuine smile that got under their skin and festered there. A smile that seemed for all the world like happiness. Their laughs echoed in the hall long after they had stopped laughing and started staring. Who knew such great 'warriors' could look so frightened? They couldn't know that Loki's pleasure came from imagining their horrific ends, and he wasn't about to tell them. It was entertaining enough that such a simple expression could unnerve them so.

"My friends," he said coolly, bringing the warriors uncomfortable memories of the first time they saw him as a king. In his rightful place, no less. "Is there anything else you need?"

For a moment the four looked at him with expressions between shock and suspicion on their faces. Fandral was the first to turn tail and leave, followed swiftly by Volstagg and what remained of his pheasant.

Hogun bowed his head by measure of mere degrees before turning to follow his companions, saying "No, prince." For a moment Loki considered this, deciding Hogun would be spared from the worst of his revenge. At least _this _warrior had common sense about him. Sif glared at Loki before departing. Spiteful wretch, that one. Just as he allowed himself to become hopeful for some peace, heavy footsteps betrayed the approach of someone else.

"Loki!" The Thunderer certainly hadn't earned his name for being quiet.

The aforementioned individual turned on his heel to face Thor, his smile growing bitter. "To what do I owe the pleasure, _brother?_" He said, standing rigid. Thor had a way of making a bad day much worse.

Today, Thor didn't bother with the usual 'we're still brothers' or 'father still loves you' speech. It was always humorous to watch him try to put together an eloquent argument. He tried, he really did, but Thor could never come up with more than the elementary ideas of love and happiness and memories. It made Loki sick.

"I care not for your fretfulness today, brother, I have just spoken with Heimdall. He sees trouble on Midgard with the ones that call themselves 'shield.' I must speak with father."

Loki raised an eyebrow, the smile dying on his lips. "Are you assuming I care? Your mortals could all perish in flame and I would not lose a wink of sleep over it. In fact, I would love to be the one to ignite the fire."

To Loki's immense surprise, Thor grabbed him by his arm and forcefully pulled him closer. He looked so bestial that the trickster half expected him to growl.

"You would do well to avoid threatening Midgard, Loki, the mortals are under _my _protection. Or have you forgotten?"

"I have forgotten nothing of your attempts to defend that miserable realm, nor have I forgotten your friends. Mark my words, they will _all _pay for their insolence." Loki spat, pushing the Thunderer away. He hated the group of mortals- the Avengers, the technical one had said- nearly as much as he hated Thor. Their only saving grace was that they weren't intent on telling Loki how _loved _he was, unlike Thor. The brute still wasn't giving up.

"Come, I must speak with the All-father, and you will come with me." He turned to walk out of the room, not caring in the slightest that Loki was still seething at him. Did no one respect him anymore?

What was he thinking? Of course no one respected him. No one ever had in the first place.

He would just have to get everyone to fear him instead. Fear worked like respect, but it wasn't lost as easily and was a bit more persuasive. Breathing a curt sigh, Loki brushed off the front of his armor (which he had mercifully been allowed to keep) and followed Thor in the direction of the throne room.

* * *

Something about the resemblance between the mortal called Fury and the all-powerful Odin was humorous, Loki mused to himself. Which brought him to his next thought; a mortal with a name synonymous to wrath and ferocity? It was laughable, considering the other mortals this 'Fury' chose to hide behind. Their group might as well be named the Incompetents for all the good they had done. There was more bickering than working in that setting, and Loki could only wonder how they got along now. Optimistically they would still be quarreling with each other, but the trickster knew better than to be optimistic. No, they had probably grown closer from their victory over what was to be Midgard's personal Ragnarok. Such petty sentiment.

In the throne room, Thor was speaking to Odin about some urgent matter on Midgard. From the bits of the conversation Loki cared to listen to, a few of Thor's mortal friends had gotten together again. S.H.I.E.L.D. was carrying out tests on some new experiment, and for whatever reason this was a terrible thing that he, Thor, had to personally keep an eye on. Arrogance. Loki wasn't interested, so he merely gazed at the All-father with a scowl worthy of a king's dignity.

"Do you believe the mortals are endangering themselves?" Odin said, leaning back on his throne. He too did not seem concerned, which Thor had not taken a liking to. The Thunderer was already raising his voice.

"Father, they are trying to use technology they are not yet ready to understand, let alone control. I would go to Midgard to make sure they do not damage themselves or their realm."

Odin scrutinized his son for a moment before speaking. "Why is this of our concern, Thor? I understand your liking for their people, but your responsibilities lie here. You must not forget your duty to Asgard in your fondness for Midgard."

"I have not, father, but this _is _my responsibility. The trouble is my brother's fault." Thor turned to Loki, who was now fully invested in the conversation.

"What are you accusing me of? I have done nothing!" He snarled, but paused to take in the knowing look Thor had on his face. It wasn't like the Thunderer to lie, so why would he say such a thing?

"No, not recently, but it is Chitauri technology they seek to understand. As such, you brought the danger to Midgard, and it is my responsibility to see that you cause no further harm."

Thor looked back to Odin, smiling haughtily. On one hand Loki was quite pleased that his attack was still causing havoc on that unpleasant realm. On the other, he had a feeling he would have to make recompense for this, even though he hadn't done it directly. And the Chitauri... the very word reminded him of the threat looming over his head. So far the Other had yet to find him, but he didn't doubt his former ally's ability to do so.

"Father," Thor continued, looking grave again, "The last time the humans tried to understand such technology they attracted far too much attention. They have not the wisdom to see their folly. Please, let me see that they do not make the same mistake twice."

Odin leaned forward, looking at his son. Or perhaps what he considered his sons. He spent a moment in thought, the telltale creases of a frown touching his brow.

"Considering this... Perhaps it would be in their best interest if you went. I will inform Heimdall that you will need the tesseract."

Thor bowed appreciatively as Loki turned to leave, but Odin stood and they both paused in their actions.

"And Thor..." Odin said, his eye gleaming with a certain light.

"...Bring Loki."

* * *

**Well there's Loki for you, always such a charmer. I must say, I'm pleased in only took two chapters to get everyone at least headed to the same realm. We'll see if we can get everyone on the same page (excuse the pun) in the next chapter.**

**Thank you for reading, feel free to review as always!**

**~Nightlance**


	3. Ponderings

**Hello all!**

**I'd like to thank you for the alerts and the favorites. Trust me, I take these things to heart while writing. I'm sure more than one of you is wondering about the length of Loki's punishment, and I promise you will get an explanation a few chapters down the line.**

**Now without boring you with too much drivel, here's a chapter. Enjoy!**

All characters © Marvel Comics

* * *

Jarvis had never been so painfully slow. Ever. In the history of always. Tony would have to do something about it later, but for now he just had to wait. As a man very much used to instant gratification, he _hated _waiting. It wasn't as if their security was difficult to get around, because it truly wasn't. There were just too many files to decrypt, and each one had different security codes on it, requiring that Jarvis go through each file individually and decrypt it before the two could open it. They had gone through a few hundred already, but at this rate it would take them days to search everything. Tony was sure that Fury would notice by then.

The two were stalling for time as the A.I. sifted through information, looking for anything and everything that had to do with the current project. So far they learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had five Chitauri specimens, six if they counted the one their doctors had dissected to little bits. Other than that, Jarvis had discovered virtually nothing they didn't already know. Most of the files Stark's A.I. had looked through already were duplicates of information or simply not important.

As Fury approached for what was the eighth time since five o'clock (it was now well past nine at night, most of the staff had gone home) the two hastily covered up their search with diagrams of the Chitauri armor and calculations that, as Tony put it, were 'too complicated to explain and were vital to their understanding of the armor's circuitry.' In reality he'd merely put some algorithms on the screen to make their so-called progress look impressive. He considered himself lucky that Fury couldn't tell the difference.

"Boys, have you found anything worth my time or do I have to be disappointed for the night?" The director said, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Natasha was just behind him, wearing her neutral expression.

"Sorry boss," Tony muttered, pretending to pour over some of his fabricated data while strategically leaning over the plugged-in phone to hide it from view, "You're just going to have to be disappointed. I'd suggest you go home and get some beauty sleep, we'll come back in the morning and, you know, look at your screens more." Bruce gave an apologetic nod, as if to affirm Tony's statement. He had let Tony do all the work to avoid having to answer questions; it was Stark who was better at such evasive behavior.

Fury sighed and turned to leave, his overcoat flowing in an overly dramatic manner, leaving Natasha with the other two. They both looked at her for a moment before going about their business in silence. As soon as the door shut behind the director, however, she took a few steps forward, drawing their attention again. By the look on her face Tony suspected she wasn't happy. Great, she was just _charming _when she was irritated.

"So what have you been doing this whole time?" she said, crossing her arms in a way that made Tony think of a mother hen. A very deadly mother hen. With lots of weapons.

"Oh you know, research." he offered, closing all of the files currently open on the screens and not-so-subtly picking up his still plugged-in phone. He figured she could be trusted considering her misgivings about whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. was going. "Jarvis, do me a favor and download whatever we didn't look at. We'll have to take a look back at the tower."

"Certainly sir." came the A.I.'s response. The phone had been smart enough to stay quiet up until now, but there was no need for secrecy with everyone else gone. "Shall I confine the download to files pertaining to your specified search, or shall I store all files on hand?" They had been searching only through files that contained the word 'Chitauri' or had diagrams pertaining to the alien, but now that he thought about it the other S.H.I.E.L.D. files might be useful. So far the organization had done a good job of looking clean, if there really was any ulterior motive here. Tony was grudgingly beginning to believe that, in this case, research really _was _just research.

"Get 'em all, might be fun to look at." Tony looked up and smiled at the other two, who were clearly not amused. If anything Banner looked like he was ready to run from Natasha, who was currently frowning at the inventor. He raised an eyebrow at her and stowed his smartphone (his very, _very _smart phone at that) away.

"What's with that face? I'm not such a fan of that face, Agent Romanoff, that's... that's way too 'angry face' for my taste."

"You haven't found anything yet?" she said, looking exasperated this time. "Fury won't even tell _me _what they're doing here, and I'd really like to know."

Fury wasn't telling Natasha his dirty secrets? Tony frowned and filed that one away under 'Fury's being shifty,' which only helped to confirm his ulterior motive theory. Usually the director told Natasha everything, but he must have a good reason not to if she was being kept in the dark on this one. No wonder she wasn't happy with him.

"Tell you what Tasha," he said, earning a scowl from the assassin and an amused chuckle from Bruce. They were lucky Clint wasn't around. "Come back to the tower with me. Both of you. We'll look through this stuff together. Hell, invite the other boys too, five pairs of eyes are better than one. I would say six, but I don't think they have cell service in Asgard."

Natasha nodded and whipped out her cell, which was considerably less cool that Tony's, while Bruce wandered off to get his things. Tony made his way to the room's entrance, muttering something about meeting them outside as he left. In the outer hallway he proceeded to retrace the path they had taken to get there. It wasn't too difficult considering the relatively straight hallways, and since they had only turned once to get here it was nearly impossible to get lost.

The lights had been turned off in all the rooms adjacent to the hallway, making the passage considerably darker. The arc reactor in his chest was doing a better job of illuminating his way than the dim lighting was, even through the fabric of his shirt. Now that he was alone, Tony could appreciate how eerie the place was. His footsteps echoed through the hall no matter how lightly he tried to step, sounding unnaturally loud in the silence. There was a chill to the place, as if the cold air had found its way down to the bunker. Though he looked through all of the large glass windows as he passed them, he couldn't see anything inside the research rooms other than the odd glow of a console or the intermittent blink of a security camera. When he swore he heard something move beside him Tony found himself wishing he had waited for the others.

It was probably his imagination. No, it was _hopefully _his imagination. Yes, that was it. One could never truly know what was probable in a place like this. When he finally made it to the elevator (which looked far less rickety on this end) he turned around and leaned against the wall, waiting. Nothing made sense with S.H.I.E.L.D. these days. It was strange that they brought Tony in on this project, considering its nature. Banner was fully capable of handling this himself, so why did they need an engineer? Tony looked around, suppressing memories of dark tunnels in Afghanistan as he took in the barren hallways, wishing the other two would hurry up already.

No, he wasn't scared. Tony Stark was never scared. He just didn't like being alone in the place, or alone in general. There was no one to talk to. This place only brought up more questions in his mind, more dead ends to be explored... Why build this facility if S.H.I.E.L.D. had helicarriers capable of housing research stations? Did it have to be underground? Perhaps it did... only not in the literal sense.

Was Fury hiding something from the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

No, couldn't be. Tony was probably thinking too hard. Over complicating things like he usually did. Why would they do a thing like that? Then again, he could think of many reasons they would do a thing like that. As Natasha and Bruce rounded the corner he straightened his stance, shaking whatever apprehension might have been showing on his face.

"Does everything need a code around here?" he asked as Natasha keyed in a code to open the elevator. "That might get old if you have to punch in some digits every time you go to the bathroom. I hope your passwords aren't long, that would suck."

"Clint and Rodgers are on their way to your place, Stark." she said, pointedly ignoring his comment. The other two seemed to be in no mood to talk, which was disappointing to say the least. Stark thrived on idle chatter, especially in quiet elevators. As they stepped into the little box of a room, Tony found himself wondering idly how Captain Spangley was getting along with the new Manhattan and decided he would have to ask once they were all back at Stark Tower. Tony caught himself smiling. It had been quite a long time since all the Avengers were united, and now, tonight, nearly all of them would be in the same room again.

Who knew he would be looking forward to getting the gang back together?

* * *

A bright flash of blue light might have been conspicuous on Midgard, but not in this abandoned alleyway. The sky seemed to split as energy, or what could be called magic, teleported it's two travelers to the ground. As spectacular as the view was, no one was around to appreciate the brilliant light before it dissipated save for a flock of roosting pigeons. All that remained in the wake of the tesseract's energy was a subtle blue glow that seemed to electrify the air, and two Asgardians left kneeling on the ground. They were still for a moment, as if dazed by the magic that still surrounded them, but slowly the two pushed themselves to their feet.

The first thing Loki noticed as the warmth and crackle of energy finally dispersed was the snow. A light flurry was falling lazily from the darkened sky, and though there wasn't a hint of wind the air felt like it was well below freezing. Smirking to himself, the trickster looked to Thor, who seemed to be having a difficult time adjusting to travel by tesseract. It wasn't quite as comfortable as the Bifrost, but it served the same purpose. That's all that mattered as far as Loki was concerned; comfort was not a luxury he was given often.

"I do not wish for such an experience again, that magic was never meant for travel." Thor muttered, his hand pressed firmly against the brick wall of whatever building they happened to be standing next to. In Asgard, Odin had ordered the construction of a holding device for the tesseract that would also serve as a temporary Bifrost while the true bridge was being rebuilt. Heimdall possessed the thing and remained at his usual station, acting as gatekeeper of the realm once again. At least this time Thor wouldn't have to keep the tesseract with him; it was able to project its portals now, with the help of Asgardian engineering.

"On the contrary," Loki said quietly, catching a drifting snowflake in his hand, "It was created for transport. It's not as glamorous as your precious bridge, but most of us have to make do with what we're given."

"Or what you've stolen." Thor straightened out and shook his head, ridding himself of the draining effects of the magic. It felt as if the power that got them to Midgard had drained his strength in the process, making his limbs much heavier and his movements delayed. Loki, however, seemed to have recovered from the effects much quicker.

Loki sneered at the remark. It was bad enough that he had to accompany Thor on this little observation mission of his, but it would be far worse having to endure his not-brother's constant commentary. If it wasn't for Odin's threats he would have left already, but as it was, Heimdall would be paying particularly close attention to him now. No, he couldn't escape. Not yet.

"Do you even have any idea where your friends are?" he said as Thor stepped out of the alley and onto one of the many sidewalks of New York City. Loki followed, staying a few steps behind and always just out of reach. "As much as I would _love _wandering around this mortal realm, I'm not too keen on remaining here longer than necessary."

Thor looked around, as if he might draw inspiration from the nearly uniform buildings surrounding them. He shivered as a light breeze caught his cape, his grip on Mjolnir tightening enough to whiten his knuckles. "I know we are in the right place. Come, brother!" With that he strode off toward what looked to be the busier part of the city, leaving Loki to follow along. That simply wouldn't do. If he was to accompany Thor on this idiotic mission to protect the mortals from themselves, so be it. He would _not _be led around like a dog.

"I hope you realize, Thor…" Loki said, taking a few hasty steps to catch up, "Your friends will be just as happy to see me as I am pleased to be here."

Thor glanced over at the trickster, never breaking stride. "Yes, I am sure they would have words with you over your actions, but I will see to it that none of them harm you."

Loki narrowed his eyes, now walking beside his not-brother. "I need no protection, least of all from the likes of you." Thor offered no response to this and set his gaze ahead of him.

It was remarkable how little consideration Odin had given this. Surely he realized, Loki thought, that the humans would react adversely to having their old enemy back on Midgard. To say that it would be troubling to the mortals was quite the understatement. The All-father seemed indifferent at best to what the mortals wanted, his only concern was the lesson he could _attempt _to teach his adopted son. For all his preaching of respect and wisdom, he was blind to the consequences his actions would have to the people of this realm. Loki grinned at this. Odin had him on his best behavior through threats Loki couldn't simply ignore, but that didn't mean he wouldn't have some fun while on Midgard.

And yet, as meaningless as this all was to Loki, he couldn't shake the feeling that Odin had hidden intentions behind this sentence. Why send him to the realm he had hoped to conquer? Better yet, why allow Loki his _magic _in a place like this? He knew very well that the All-father had the power to bar him from his magic, so why wouldn't he? With only Odin's threats of torment and imprisonment to keep him in line, Odin was putting a great deal of faith in Loki. Did his not-father honestly think this blatant display of trust would erase years of neglect?

The two stopped when they reached an intersection, earning puzzled looks from pedestrians along the way. Thor approached a stand of what looked to be clothing in a myriad of colors, though it was difficult to tell. The mortals had such odd taste in apparel. Thor advanced upon the individual operating the stand; a man bundled so tightly in his puffy winter clothing that they could only see his eyes and tufts of graying hair that escaped his hat.

"Uhh... d-do y... Uh, need somethin'?" he said, pulling the scarf down from his mouth to speak. He was gawking up at the Asgardians as if he could hardly believe they were standing in front of him. Between the cold and the sudden visit from two very out of the ordinary men, Loki couldn't quite tell what was making the man shiver.

"Yes, street peddler. We must locate a man named Tony Stark, direct us to his whereabouts." Thor's booming voice alone was enough to scare the man half out of his wits. It didn't help that he had caught sight of Thor's hammer while listening, and was now gazing with wide eyes as if he expected the stranger to strike him down if he didn't answer.

"W-well..." he stuttered, taking a step back, "I'm not real sure..."

It was clear to Loki that they weren't going to get Stark's exact location from the man, so they would have to settle for the next best thing. Recalling the tower Stark had built and what Barton had told him of the inventor's fondness for festivities, Loki stepped around Thor to face the man. He smiled as politely as he could, trying to ignore the fact that it was a pathetic mortal he was addressing. This kind of interaction was beneath him.

"I am sorry, my friend here can be overbearing at times." Loki said, gesturing to the confused-looking Thor. The trickster did his best to keep the contempt out of his voice. "Tony Stark is holding one of his parties at his residence tonight, and I'm afraid we've gotten ourselves lost. I believe it is called Stark Tower? We need directions, if you know of the place."

The man visibly relaxed as Loki finished speaking, a look of understanding crossing his face. "Ahh yeah, gotcha. I was wonderin' about those costumes, you know? Anyway, you're in luck pal." The man turned to look down one of the four streets of the intersection and pointed. "Head that way for a few blocks and you'll see it on your left. Can't miss it, real flashy and stuff." He looked back, frowning slightly. "You look real cold bud," he said, nodding his head to Loki. The dim lighting of the street played off his skin in such a way that made him look paler than usual.

The trickster waved his hand in dismissal as Thor walked off in the direction indicated. "I am quite alright. Thank you for your time." Loki smiled convincingly and turned around to follow Thor. His pleased expression faded as soon as the man could no longer see his face. Thor offered no gratitude (nor did Loki expect him to) but he _did _smile at the trickster, so Loki took that for thanks. His not-brother would have to learn that his brawn would not get him as far as artfully crafted words could. There was a reason the Asgardians often called Loki 'Silvertongue.'

"I do not recall it being so cold here." Thor muttered, shivering again as they walked. The snow was coming down a bit heavier than when they had first arrived, and wherever people weren't walking the substance was accumulating on the ground. The streets and sidewalks were especially empty tonight, no doubt because of the weather.

"You were only here for, what, a few days at best? You barely understand this realm, Thor. Some protector you are-" Loki smirked when he was cut off by the deafening crack of thunder overhead. Thor's warning. "Oh now, don't threaten me. I can't imagine your father would condone such un-brotherly behavior."

The thunderer didn't bother to respond, though his expression was one of annoyance. They continued on in silence for a few blocks, or at least what Loki thought were blocks. With no other point of reference he had to assume that the groups of building separated by streets were the blocks the peddler had mentioned. At the latest intersection they had come to, Thor turned his head to the left and paused, smiling triumphantly as he caught sight of the tower not one more block away.

"Do you think these people warm their buildings?" Thor said as he walked with renewed purpose toward their destination. Loki merely sighed and quickened his steps to remain at his not-brother's side, wondering just how these mortals would react to his presence. As it turns out, he wouldn't have to wait long to find out.

Just as the two made it to the end of this block and Stark Tower came fully into view, Loki collided with another man that had been walking toward the same corner as they were. The Asgardian took a step backward, relatively unshaken, as the hooded pedestrian nearly lost his footing on the icy walkway.

"Hey, watch where y... son of a _bitch!" _Seemingly out of nowhere the stranger produced a bow and nocked an arrow, aiming it directly at Loki's chest before he could do so much as grin.

The hood of his jacket had fallen, revealing an irate Clint Barton.

"What the hell are you doing here and why shouldn't I kill you?" he said, drawing the bowstring a little further back to emphasize his point.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Agent Barton." Loki smirked, raising his hands in surrender. Barton didn't look convinced.

_And now the fun begins._

* * *

**I do hope you've enjoyed this one as much as I have. Just wait until the entire gang's back together, fun times to be had! I will try to update more often, as I have a bit more time on my hands nowadays.**

**Until next time...**

**~Nightlance**


	4. Conflict

**Hello again!**

**Thank you for your patience, I thought I had more time to write but apparently I didn't. I'm terrible, I know. BUT… you get an extra long chapter for having to wait.**

**Enjoy, and feel free to review!**

All characters © Marvel Comics

* * *

Loki had seen his fair share of weapons, many of which had been pointed in his direction, but it was Barton's face that was unnerving. Even to Loki this assassin looked dangerously unpredictable, which made the tip of the arrow pointed directly at his heart seem all the more threatening. Now was not the time for taunting gestures.

"Lower your weapon, my friend! My brother has no quarrel with you this day, it is his duty to be here." Thor had raised Mjolnir, but he looked hesitant to step between Barton and his prey. The few people that were on the sidewalk with them had scattered as soon as the weapons were drawn.

"Yeah? I recall someone saying an ant has no quarrel with a boot, Thor, and this bastard's looking mighty ant-like right about now." Clint was clearly not in the mood for games, or even for reasoning.

"Or, perhaps, a mouse has no quarrel with a hawk." Loki said as calmly as he could, keeping his hands in the air. Clint considered this for a moment, pleased by the fact that Loki could suppress his god-sized ego long enough to refer to himself as a mouse.

"Thor," he said, never taking his eyes off the trickster, "How do I know I can trust him to not attempt a hostile takeover?"

Thor lowered his hammer in a sign of good faith. "It will be explained in time. For now, rest assured that Loki will behave."

At this Loki huffed in annoyance, his brow furrowed. They spoke as if he was an ill-tempered child. This did not sit well with him, considering how insignificant these mortals were in his eyes and how belligerent they were toward each other on a regular basis. They were nothing but hypocrites if they saw him as lesser than themselves.

Barton lowered his bow, relaxing the tension on the bowstring as he did so. Still, he looked far too wary to take his eyes off of Loki. "I trust you Thor, but I don't trust him. Why are you here anyway?"

"Heimdall informed me of strange activity here on Midgard. He mentioned some sort of experiment being performed, and the Chitauri."

Clint finally turned his gaze to Thor. "Experiment? I haven't heard about any experiments lately, but Nat just called me not too long ago about something S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing. Stark wants to meet to discuss whatever it is, which is why I'm here." He gestured to the ostentatious tower across the intersection. "Sounds like that might be related to whatever your Hemdull said."

"Heimdall." Loki corrected, taking the opportunity to lower his hands.

"You can just shut it." Clint retorted, shooting a glare at the trickster. Loki smirked. It was just too easy to get these mortals riled. "As much as I don't want your brother anywhere near our planet, let alone this tower..." he sighed and looked at Thor, "I suppose you're not going anywhere soon. And it's damn cold out here."

Thor offered the most reassuring smile he could muster. "Then we may proceed? I would like to inquire about these experiments myself."

Clint looked back at Loki, who was grinning his usual toothy grin. The trickster looked just a step above manic, though Clint couldn't tell if it was an act or not. Loki was infuriatingly unreadable.

"I guess so, there's really not much else you can do. And if we're going to have this guy walking around it's probably safer keeping him under watch twenty four seven."

_There they go again, talking about me as if I'm not even here. How rude. _Loki wasn't sure why he was so surprised by this, but some part of him had expected a different reaction from the mortals. So far Barton just seemed annoyed. This was to be expected, of course, but there was something missing. Loki expected all of Barton's anger and resentment, but that wasn't enough.

"Right this way then." Clint tucked his bow back into his coat, no doubt where it would be readily available should he need it. Thor followed, and, reluctantly, so did Loki. It's not as if he had a choice.

Barton wasn't afraid. Yes, that was it. Fear was the missing ingredient. A part of Loki found this highly frustrating, considering all that he had done to these Avengers and their world. Loki was used to fear. He _created _fear. He expected it wherever he went. Barton of all people should have had _some _level of trepidation regarding any interaction with Loki, but he simply didn't. Did he not care? Had the agent forgotten what Loki had done to him? His confidence was irritating, to say the least. And yet, some part of the trickster also respected him for his bravery. This was a different kind of valor, not one he could say he'd seen many times before. It was easy for Thor to face his enemies with unwavering courage, what with all of his strength and Mjolnir's power. Could it truly be called courage when victory was assured? Loki didn't think so.

Barton was just like any other mortal. Granted, he was skilled in his craft, but that came from years of dedication and hard work. It was incredible, then, that he had the nerve to stand up to what was considered a god on their realm. And he wasn't even afraid. As Loki considered this he felt that, perhaps, the man and his team deserved some respect. Surely these mortal heroes were the very best of their people.

Their numerous flaws made their status in the mortal society ironic.

"Tony's going to kill me for this." Clint said as they entered the building. The lobby was just as grand as Stark Tower's exterior; the walls and floor were some sort of polished stone, and the place was well lit with a natural light that was pleasing to the eyes. It had an air of cleanliness about it and, judging by what little technology was in the room, it seemed more advanced than most mortal buildings around. Even the front desk was fixed with touchscreen panels that displayed various lists of appointments and camera feeds from elsewhere in the building.

The receptionist, a young woman with hair very similar in length and color to Thor's, glanced up from one of the many screens at her station. "Can I help you?"

"Just heading up to Tony's place," Clint said, ignoring the baffled look that crossed her face the moment she saw the Asgardians. "S.H.I.E.L.D. business."

"But... Mister Stark isn't here and... I think you need an appointment." She looked as if she hadn't the slightest idea what to do about the sudden intrusion, but the three certainly weren't asking her for permission. She stood up and leaned over the desk to watch them.

"I know, he's on his way." Barton gave her a smile as the three stepped into the elevator, which was equally as posh as the lobby. "Let him know we're here when he gets in, thanks!"

"Oh, well alright..." The woman sat back down, though she looked extremely uncomfortable with the prospect of just allowing them to go. "Next time could you just... call ahead? Mister Rogers did-"

They didn't hear whatever else she said as the doors slid closed. Loki stood in the corner farthest away from the other two and did his utmost to keep his expression neutral.

"Is everyone going to be at this meeting?" Thor said, looking at Clint as the agent pressed a button that sent the elevator into motion.

"If you mean the team, then yes. No Fury, just us."

Loki remained silent as the elevator neared its destination. He wasn't sure if he'd imagined it, but he could have sworn that he saw Thor look in his direction when Barton said the whole team would be present. All of the people who had the most reason to hate him, save for their director. Thor was worried for his safety. _Loki's _safety. He could understand the danger in a room full of Avengers, but he didn't _want _Thor's concern. He could take care of himself. Thor had always stood up for him and was always so... _brotherly._Shouldn't he be more concerned about his heroic friends than his adopted sibling?

The doors slid open to a room that could only be described as elegant. Loki recognized the style of the room from his previous visit, and very few things had changed besides the furniture. It seemed as if Stark had taken it upon himself to obtain larger chairs (which had far too many pillows to possibly be comfortable for _anyone, _even on this realm) and a table big enough to have a small banquet. Perhaps it was for all of Stark's new friends. _Incredible, _Loki thought, _that he managed to befriend someone beside himself. _That man simply loved the sound of his own voice.

The room had an unmistakably welcoming feel, which was a surprise in light of the inventor's eccentric persona. It was clean too. And... flowers? There was a vase on the coffee table that stood in front of the sofas, complete with a colorful bouquet. Perhaps this was all his woman's doing. Loki vaguely recalled Barton informing him of Miss Pepper Potts and their complicated relationship, but he hadn't been interested enough to properly listen. He would have to learn more now that they were here.

Thor walked ahead of the other two, looking around with Mjolnir half raised as if he was expecting a threat. While he was distracted Clint turned on Loki, glaring with a hatred that, if tangible, would have surely set the trickster on fire.

"I don't know what you're doing here and I don't really care, as long as you keep your hands _off _our people. If you so much as _breathe _in the wrong direction I will turn you into a living pincushion before you can bat those pretty little eyes of yours. Got it?"

Loki smirked, refusing to back away from Barton. The mortal was considerably shorter, it was a wonder that he could even look so threatening.

"I understand, Barton. I won't ruffle your feathers." Clint didn't move. Apparently Loki's answer wasn't satisfactory. "If it makes you feel any better, you are not the only one with eyes on me."

At this the agent gave a curt nod and turned around, muttering something along the lines of 'damn straight' and moving to sit on one of the many sofas assembled near the center of the room. Most of the furniture was facing a large screen that, at the moment, looked dormant. Thor did the same, though he looked distinctly out of place next to Clint.

The sound of shoes clicking sharply on the floor alerted them to the presence of Pepper Potts before her voice did. "Clint, you're here? Jarvis said I sh-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she walked into the room. The glass she had been holding promptly escaped her grasp and shattered on the floor.

"Oh hey, Miss Potts..." Clint said, smiling half-heartedly. Before he could say anything else Pepper screeched and ran from the room with surprising speed, considering the heels she was wearing.

Loki turned and gave the other two an innocent look, inwardly feeling quite triumphant. "I'm not sure what I ever did to _her._"

Clint rubbed his temples and sighed. "I guess we should talk to her before she does something responsible about this."

* * *

"Did you get your hair done recently? It looks nice." Tony said as he held the door for Natasha and Bruce. They had both been here before, of course. Tony waved at the receptionist as they passed her desk, ignoring her when she stood up in a hurry.

"No, I didn't." Natasha said in her matter-of-fact voice.

Tony looked at her in disbelief. "And who said I was talking to _you? _Honestly woman!" He smirked and looked at Bruce. "Seriously Banner, nice hair."

"Well thanks, I think," he said, uncertainty coloring his voice. As it was, his hair looked as unkempt as usual. He wasn't sure if Tony was messing with him or Natasha, but from the looks of it he had gotten both of them.

"Uh, Mister Stark?" the receptionist said, leaning over her counter again. She simply wouldn't come out from behind it.

Tony looked at her. "Are you in a better mood than these two? Because I swear they could make rain clouds in the Sahara with their drabishness. Is that even a word? I don't even know, look it up for me."

"Well I don't know, sir, but-" She was cut off when the lobby doors opened, revealing a shivering Steve Rogers. He was carrying a large bag that made Tony extremely suspicious. How long did he expect to be here anyway?

"I hate winter, it's freezing out there." he said, rushing to join them on their way to the elevator. The receptionist was still trying to get Tony's attention.

"What, bad memories as a capsicle?" He smirked as Steve gave him a glare. Did everyone have to be so cold tonight? Hah. He decided not to share that pun. Probably too much. "Kidding buddy, nice to see you again." The soldier gave Tony a reluctant smile, though it didn't seem sincere.

"Sir, three people are already here. I told them to make an appointment but-" The group was already in the elevator and Tony shook his head at her.

"Don't worry about it, I'm expecting visitors. Thanks." She sat back down with a sigh, obviously relieved that she had done her duty.

The four were relatively silent in the elevator as it began its ascent, until Tony uttered a quiet 'huh.'

"What?" Natasha said, looking at him as if she expected some snarky comment. He couldn't blame her.

"Well, there are four of us in the elevator. We didn't invite Thor since he's off on another world. So, the only other person that should be coming is Clint. Am I right?"

"Yes, I see what you mean..." Bruce said, looking thoughtful. The other two only looked confused, so Tony continued.

"Well, why did my receptionist say there were three people here already?"

A look of understanding crossed Steve's face while Natasha instinctively reached for her gun. "That could be anyone."

"Yep. I love a good mystery." Tony said as the elevator came to a stop with a ding. The doors opened and all four stepped out into the room, looking around anxiously for whoever was already there. The first thing he saw was Clint and Thor talking to Pepper. Pepper looked extremely upset, but it seemed like the other two were trying to calm her. Then he looked over to his minibar (which really was a full-sized bar in its own right), where Loki was inspecting his collection of alcoholic drinks. All was normal then. Good.

Wait.

What was Thor doing here? He was supposed to be off in Asgard with Loki.

_Wait._

Loki was inspecting his bar. Loki. _Loki _was inspecting his bar, which meant _Loki_ was _in his tower. _Loki, the murderous villain who had tried to subjugate the entire human race, was in his living room. Now he was concerned. At least he was able to see with his own eyes that Pepper was safe, although she was a bit shaken.

Natasha drew her weapon this time and pointed it directly at Loki, and Steve had somehow managed to wrestle his shield out of his bag. Bruce made his way over to Clint and Thor, sitting down next to them to watch from a distance. Tony stared.

"What are you doing here?" Nat said, frozen to the spot. Steve inched forward with the shield raised in front of him.

"Looking at Stark's collection of beverages. We don't have this many choices on Asgard, usually it's mead or ale or some other vague alcohol. Warriors don't tend to have taste enough to discriminate." Loki smiled and looked back to the collection as if it was the most normal thing in the world to do. "Besides, he owes me a drink."

Natasha glanced over at Clint, who looked oddly relaxed. "I don't believe you."

"Well I expect Tony Stark is a man of his word, so I don't see why it should be so difficult to believe me." Loki said, wisely staying where he was. He knew very well that Natasha would not hesitate to pull the trigger.

"Are they alright?" Steve said, looking to Bruce. He turned his attention to Clint and Thor, who were patiently waiting.

"They seem fine," came his reply, "They definitely aren't mind controlled, their eyes are completely normal."

"I owe you all an explanation for this sudden intrusion, my friends." Thor said apologetically.

"Right, so if you'll all just calm down I'd really like to hear this." Clint added, leaning back again.

Thor began explaining what happened after they returned to Asgard, but neither Tony nor Loki was interested. The former thought the little details were boring, and the latter because he had been there and didn't really need to hear about his not-father's sentencing a second time. It was a dull story, really, and Loki couldn't help but notice that Thor was skipping over a great many details. Of course he was, why would he divulge Loki's punishment to the Avengers? Thor was defending him even now...

Tony pulled out his phone while Thor explained the enchantment Odin had placed on Loki to keep him from hiding himself from Heimdall. The rest looked either confused or contemplative, but none looked completely satisfied with the story.

"Jarvis, transfer all files to the home database and continue analyzing. Tell me when you find anything new."

"Of course sir." the A.I. responded out of Tony's phone so as not to disturb story time in the center of the room. He set the device down and walked over to his bar where Loki was still looking at bottles. It seemed as if he was forcing himself not to listen to Thor's explanations.

"He's taking a long time to explain, so why don't you just tell me why you're here?" the inventor said as he grabbed one of his many bottles and two glasses. Loki looked at him with an expression that might as well be blank.

"I was ordered by Odin to accompany Thor here on his foolhardy mission. He's concerned about your mortal experiments."

Tony poured two generous glasses of the amber liquid and passed one to Loki before returning the bottle to its place. The trickster raised an eyebrow at the offer and took the glass.

"I don't like owing people things, least of all you. I _am _a man of my word." Tony took a drink and looked back to the small gathering. "Why did you have to come with your brother?"

Loki gave him an exasperated sigh. "I have no doubt this is part of my punishment." He took a hesitant sip of the drink and, after a moment of thought, nodded. "What is this?"

"That's called Scotch, it's a type of whisky. So that's all? You just have to go around with your brother and you're forgiven?"

The trickster glared. "Did I not say _part _of my punishment? I love being here as much as you all want me here, Tony Stark."

"Pick one. It's either Tony or it's Stark, not both. You sound like my mother when you say both."

Loki took another drink as he listened to Thor recount their discussion with Odin. "Very well, _Stark._"

"Coincidentally we're concerned about the same thing. Do me a favor and don't break anything while you're here, alright? Good talk." Tony didn't wait for a response as he walked over to the others. He heard the faintest of footsteps as Loki followed him.

Tony was slightly confused as to why Odin would just send someone so dangerous back to the world he had attempted to take by force, but Loki seemed... different. He was the same tricky bastard they met over a year ago, but some of the rage behind the Asgardian's schemes had dissipated. Loki was bitter still, but Tony suspected that somewhere in the demigod's mind there was resignation. Maybe Odin's previous punishments actually had an effect. Maybe Loki was just... less angry. Either way, the lessons Odin was trying to impart on his adopted son were not easily taught _or _learned, and the fact that Loki was different at all was a sliver of hope.

"...And so you can be assured, friends, that my brother will not cause you any harm. He has Odin to answer to if he does." Thor finished regaling the others with a satisfied look while everyone else gazed on in mixed states of confusion.

"You mean to tell us that he can still use his magic against us? And the only thing that's keeping us safe is _hoping _that he's too afraid of Odin to do anything?" Steve said, looking baffled.

"You might as well just let him loose for all the good that'll do us!" Natasha said. Clint nodded along.

"Now I don't know," Bruce fidgeted in his place, looking around. "If Thor says it's safe then I think we should trust him. They're only here because of whatever S.H.I.E.L.D is doing, right? So we'll just figure this out and they can go back to Asgard."

"I really hope this is worth our time then," Steve said, shooting a glare in Tony's direction. He couldn't quite tell if the captain was giving that look to him or to the trickster behind him, but either way it was uncomfortable. "We've just brought an enemy back to Earth, and if this is all for nothing I'm not going to be happy."

"Odin simply wishes for Loki to aid in repairing some of the damage he has caused, and if this experimentation is a threat then it must be dealt with. Loki is partly at fault for you having such advanced technology in the first place." Thor said, a bit louder this time. They were all beginning to talk over each other.

"We don't even know if there is something that needs to be dealt with!" Steve stated, standing up. "This could be completely harmless."

"Or it could be just like Phase Two." Natasha said. "Director Fury is keeping me in the dark on this one."

"Nat's right. We can't be too careful. Hell, we don't even know what they want with Chitauri technology." Clint looked at Steve, who was clearly agitated.

"It could be completely harmless research and it could be dangerous. Either way, we need to figure this out before we go on with their plans." Bruce said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"If Heimdall thinks it is worthy of attention then it probably is. He sees more than any of us." Thor offered.

"So they have secrets! Aren't they a secret organization?" Steve was pacing now, and Natasha had stood up as well. "They probably have hundreds of projects going on, why is this one so special other than the fact that two of us were called in to help? Now there is an _enemy _among us and for what? An overdeveloped sense of curiosity?"

"Enough! Just shut up, would you?" Tony yelled, putting an abrupt stop to the bickering. "This is _my _building and Loki's staying _here_ as long as Thor is." Tony assumed Thor would be staying at the tower anyway, it wasn't as if he could check in to a hotel whenever he felt like it. He couldn't believe he was actually agreeing to this, but at the moment Loki was causing the least amount of problems. "We're not telling S.H.I.E.L.D. about Loki unless he does something to deserve it. You're not allowed to _shoot _Loki either, unless he starts something. Got it?"

After a moment of resentful silence he received nods and muttered affirmations. He would have to be content with that, because it was all he was getting. "Now can we please look at what we came here to look at?" Without waiting for their response this time he walked over to the screen.

Loki felt slightly annoyed at Stark's attitude, but at the same time he was perplexed. Tony shouldn't have been the one to be tolerant, and it was Thor's job to defend him. He'd have to remind himself to be angry at the both of them later.

"Since you have concluded your discussions, sir, there is something you should see." Jarvis stated as the computer began opening various files on its own. Both of the Asgardians nearly jumped at the voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Tony set his glass down on the coffee table, standing aside so the other could see. "Show me Jarvis."

The A.I. pulled up a new diagram, one they hadn't seen before. It took them all a moment to figure out what they were looking at, but once they understood the concept there was nothing but shocked silence in the room.

That is until Loki chuckled quietly.

"Oh dear. What are you mortals planning on doing with something like _that?_"

* * *

**And there you have it. You'll just have to wait to see what they're all looking at, but I have a feeling you're going to enjoy it. Tony and Loki will get plenty of time to chat later as well.**

**Until next time!**

**~Nightlance**


	5. Similarities

**All of you readers are wonderful. You bring me smiles, and for that I thank you.**

All characters © Marvel Comics

* * *

Steve had frozen in place as they all gazed at the screen. "What in God's name...?"

Natasha sat back down and shook her head slowly. Everyone else was completely silent, because what they were looking at just didn't make _sense._

The file on display was a diagram very much like the ones Tony and Bruce had already seen, but this one had an unusual addition.

An arc reactor.

It was nearly identical to the one currently inhabiting Tony's chest except for the fact that the diagram's version still used palladium. It was placed in a similar location on the Chitauri's armor as well. The reactor was a _part _of the Chitauri's armor.

"At least we know why they wanted you now." Bruce said as he looked at Tony, wringing his hands together as he so often did when things got tense.

"Alright, they're definitely up to something." Steve said, taking a closer look at the diagram. As it turned out even _he _could identify this technology. "We have to confront Fury."

"And what's that going to do, change his mind? I don't think so. Fury's not going to care what I have to say about this." Tony sat down next to Pepper (who looked even more horrified, if possible) and ran his fingers through his hair. "If he didn't bother to tell me in the first place it's not going to make a difference."

"At least they don't have an arc reactor, right? They can't do anything if they don't." Clint said, tilting his head a bit as he looked at the diagram.

Bruce and Natasha exchanged a look. "Actually..." Bruce said, looking squarely at the coffee table, "They do."

Tony looked at him, his hands open in a what-the-hell gesture. "And you were going to tell me this _when? _I hate it when people take my stuff!"

"I'm sorry Tony, I had no idea... I really thought you knew about it."

"While we're on the topic," Natasha said, as calm and collected as ever, "They have a complete suit of yours as well. Bruce and I thought you gave it to them, but if it wasn't you it must have been Colonel Rhodes."

"Rhodey? Why would he do something like that?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. can be very persuasive." Natasha was so good at being vague. Great, she'd be super helpful. But Tony knew she was right, as much as he hated to admit it. S.H.I.E.L.D. could probably convince Rhodey to hand over his suit without him feeling guilty at all. Hell, they probably told him Tony had given his permission.

"Alright. They have the freaky alien technology and they have my property, so the next step is to put them together. What for?" By the silence that followed Tony gathered that the others didn't have an idea either, so he returned his attention to the screen. "Jarvis, look for files associated with this one."

"Very well sir."

"I think we should all stay close," Steve said, finally returning to his seat, "We're stronger together. If this is a weapon..."

Thor looked at Steve, scowling. "Do you think they would do such a thing? Attempt to make a weapon out of technology too advanced for their understanding?" He looked as if he was about to pick up Mjolnir and just storm S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Hah, storm. Tony was privately enjoying how very punny he was tonight, but he'd keep this one to himself as well. No one appreciated a pun as much as they appreciated a snarky comment, so he could do better.

"Anything is possible." the soldier replied. "As I was saying, maybe we should stay here for a while. Tony, your place is big enough, right?"

And there it was. This is what he was afraid of, that they'd all just_ invite_ themselves over after he'd said Thor could stay. Even if they _had _saved the world together, they weren't exactly the best of friends. Tony trusted them not to get themselves into an all-out brawl, but he didn't think they could refrain from verbal arguments. And when he said 'they' he mostly meant himself and any one of the others.

"Ehhmmm... Yeah, sure, fine. You can find yourselves a room later, let's talk about the alien tech weapon now."

"If I may," Loki said, startling nearly everyone. He had managed to travel silently to the other side of the room, where he was now inspecting some colorful abstract painting Pepper had forced Tony to hang. "I don't believe this is a weapon." Tony found himself surprised that such a quiet voice could carry so far. Everything about him screamed danger; the way he walked without a sound, his soft-spoken tongue, that creepy grin that he so often gave... And had Tony actually forgotten he was there as they discussed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest mischief?

"That's great." Clint didn't sound happy. At all. "You think the armor of the alien you dragged to our planet combined with one of the greatest power sources _on _our planet isn't a weapon? You're either an idiot or you're defending your space buddies. S.H.I.E.L.D. has done this kind of thing before."

Loki raised an eyebrow and turned to face the group. He looked perfectly calm, but by the way he had clenched his fist, if only for a moment, made Tony think he was more than a little irritated. "So you won't be listening to what I have to say? Very well then."

"Why should we listen to you? You'd probably just lie to us." Natasha said, to which most of the others nodded in agreement. Bruce didn't seem like he was interested in supporting either side, and Tony wasn't sure that he wanted to get on Loki's bad side. Well, he was already on Loki's bad side. So he'd have to avoid getting on Loki's worse side.

"You forget it is in my best interest to help you. Why would I lie to set you back?" Loki turned away, this time toward the vast expanse of windows.

"You use trickery to make your way in life. Do you think we've forgotten what you did to us?" Steve was glaring hatefully.

"Still living in the past, I see?" Loki smirked, though he was still looking out the window. He must have been enjoying this.

"Your trickery is what killed Agent Coulson. Sorry, I can't just forget a thing like that."

Steve. Why did he have to bring that up? Was he _trying _to start something?

The room had gone from tense to dangerous in a matter of seconds. Loki had frozen, his gaze fixed on whatever he had been looking at. He wasn't smiling anymore. The others were in mixed states of nostalgia and anger, the latter quickly replacing the former as seconds ticked by. Thor looked particularly troubled, but he probably just didn't know who to defend. He was the one that _saw _Loki and Phil... Anyway, whatever loyalty he still had to his adopted brother was preventing him from getting quite as angry as everyone else. Tony didn't want to think about Coulson either. He was... well, what was he? He had been like a friend. Sort of. If he could call a pushy S.H.I.E.L.D. agent a friend. Still... Tony didn't have many friends, and he had considered Phil one of them. Phil didn't deserve what he got. The horrible sensation of care was threatening to take over, and that just wouldn't do.

Looking around, Tony could see that no one was about to just drop this. He looked at his watch, not particularly caring what time it was. "On second thought, why don't you all find yourselves a room now? It's late, and... yeah, we're all probably tired. We can continue this discussion tomorrow morning without killing each other, alright? Rooms are down that hallway, some more upstairs..."

As much as he hated leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files a mystery, they would be no better off if they started shooting each other. Bruce was his biggest concern. He had his head in his hands and was breathing slow, deliberate breaths in an attempt to stay calm. Tony didn't really want the Hulk destroying his tower, so he figured it would be best to avoid the situation entirely.

"Yeah. Fine." Steve said, picking up his bag and stalking off down the hallway. He hadn't even bothered to take his shield with him, but no one would be foolish enough to mess with it. Clint stood up and beckoned to Nat, who was staring at the trickster. She stood too, but her eyes never left Loki. As they departed so did Bruce. He knew his way around the place better than the others, as he'd visited many times to see Tony's research and development department.

Thor stood up next with Mjolnir in hand, which finally broke Loki's concentration. The trickster turned to face him.

"Brother," Thor said in a surprisingly quiet voice. "You would do well to avoid angering my people."

Loki scoffed, but offered nothing in return. In all fairness it hadn't been Loki to cause a problem tonight. It was his mere presence that sparked everyone's hostility. Thor walked in the direction the others had down the hallway, which left Tony alone with Pepper and Loki. The trickster went back to looking out the window.

"Tony," Pepper hissed, leaning closer and grabbing his arm. "Don't stay in here with him. Please, he's-"

"I know what he is Pep. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"You don't even have a suit nearby, what if he tries t-"

"Pepper Potts," he said, gently removing her hands from his arm. "Don't worry so much. I'm completely fine, that puny god's got nothing on me."

She stared at him for a moment, then leaned in to kiss his cheek. She must have been quite worried if she was willing to do something like that in front of Loki. Nevertheless, Tony smiled. It was nice to have someone care. "Go on, off you go. Don't wait up for me."

She sighed and stood, shooting a glance in Loki's direction before departing. Tony listened to her footsteps echo through the room until he couldn't hear them any longer. Just him and the murderer left.

* * *

If this was how the mortals were going to act Loki wasn't sure how he was going to spend time among them _without _getting into fights. He would have liked nothing more than to escape to some quiet corner and think, but this environment wasn't very conducive to creative thought. _And _it was very likely that he wouldn't be left alone. Ah well. He'd have to make do.

Loki hadn't been paying attention as the others left. He assumed they would all be gone soon enough, and he would be left with Stark's house to keep an eye on him. He had learned of Jarvis from Barton's temporary servitude, and he had to admit he was curious about the artificial intelligence. Perhaps he and Jarvis could have a conversation.

"Well you made a mess of things." Tony said, bringing Loki's attention to the fact that he was not alone at all. Surprising... Stark decided to stay? "How'd you do it?"

Loki turned and looked at him in a moment of contemplation. "Do what, exactly?"

"Well that's just it, you didn't do anything. You got to them just by talking. I've gotta say, that's impressive." Tony finished his drink (the one he had referred to as 'Scotch,' which really wasn't all that bad) and set his glass back on the table. Stark seemed unusually calm... But then again, he was perfectly collected the last time they spoke. This was yet another mortal without fear. Or if he _did _have fear, he certainly didn't show it.

Loki gave him a smirk, the kind reserved only for those situations that were truly amusing. Had Stark just paid him a compliment? "Words can be just as dangerous as weapons."

"Oh yeah, I know." Tony stood and looked at the screen, his arms crossed. Loki could see the frustration etched on his face as he gestured to the screen, making the display switch to another diagram. At least he was focused on his mortal problems and _not _on Loki. It was refreshing. "But I don't think getting everyone else upset was your intention. Seemed more like a convenient side effect. Weren't you going to say something?"

Clever. Stark was more observant than the others. "Yes."

After a moment of silence Tony turned his head with an expectant look. "Well?"

Loki took a few steps toward Tony, stopping only when the mortal began looking slightly uncomfortable. "I don't think it's a weapon. Don't you see?" He tried to make it sound as obvious as possible, as if anyone should be able to understand. This would annoy Stark, he was sure of it.

He wasn't disappointed. Tony looked back at the screen and flipped through a few more pages of data. "Listen, if you're not going to be helpful you could... I don't know, go be depressed somewhere else in the house."

"I am _not _depressed." Loki hissed, taking a few steps closer. Tony looked wary, but that wasn't going to stop him this time. "As it happens, I really don't believe your people are working on a weapon."

"Fine, but you're moody. Is that a perpetual thing with you?" Tony smirked as the trickster rolled his eyes.

"Very funny, Stark." Loki said, not looking amused at all.

"I know, I'm downright hilarious." He took a step back, and with a gesture it looked like he literally pulled the diagram off the screen and into thin air. The resulting hologram, no doubt created and projected by the house's computer, was accurate in every way. Tony walked around it slowly, looking at each and every detail. "So, what were you saying?"

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now." Loki said, looking at the hologram with interest. It reminded him of his own illusionary images, though this was a bit more basic. It was a shame Stark was so dependent on his technology, the man's creative mind could do wonders with magic if he only had access to it.

"Spit it out already! You going to help me or talk me to death?" Tony stopped at the front of the now three dimensional diagram and leaned in to inspect the facsimile of his own arc reactor. Loki closed the distance between them in a few strides, remaining on the other side of the hologram and watching Tony work.

"This armor isn't for protection, as you should already know." the trickster said, looking up at the so-called armor. It looked much more like snaking, winding cables than true armor, and it didn't offer much protection at all. Loki was assuming Tony had already realized this. He _was _clever, after all... "It is for energy. It can power weapons, yes, and it augments a soldier's strength, but it is not a weapon on its own."

Tony nodded once, not taking his eyes off the hologram. "Yeah, I kinda got that. So it could still be a weapon, couldn't it? They could use this as the new super soldier serum, it'd be much more effective."

"It could be," Loki said, clasping his hands behind his back and casually walking around the hologram. Tony matched him step for step, keeping the projection between them as if it would be an effective barrier should Loki decide to attack. The trickster grinned at him through the light. "But you are still missing something important."

Tony stood up straight and crossed his arms, though he still had to look up to meet Loki's gaze. "Well I hate being in the dark. Tell me what I'm missing."

Stark was willing to listen? Loki would have thought this mortal too arrogant to care for anyone else's points. Surely he thought himself smarter than most, and perhaps he was correct. But now, it seemed, he would take Loki's observations into account. And so he should. A bit surprised, the trickster turned his attention to the diagram. "If this is indeed a weapon, surely your Director Fury would know that you wouldn't approve of it. In that case, why would he call you in to look at his research so far if he never planned to tell you about this?" He paused to allow Tony a moment of thought. "I believe he needs your help, and he won't have it if this is a project you would most certainly refuse. It must be something other than a weapon if the situation necessitates your eventual understanding."

With a wave of his hand, Stark dragged the hologram back to the screen, leaving the two facing each other with nothing but air between them. "You're absolutely right, I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"Nor can I. You're supposed to be the clever one. The _inventor._"

Stark gave him half a smirk. "And you're supposed to be the cynical ass, yet here you are being helpful."

"That's two things we have in common."

"Two?"

"Yes, two." Loki said, enjoying Tony's look of disgust at the thought of having anything in common with him. "We're both petulant and we're both intelligent."

"Okay first off, who says _petulant _anymore? You might as well just admit you're moody."

"So are you."

"Fine. Second," Tony raised a hand and pointed his finger at Loki. "You aren't smart. You're an idiot."

"Why is that?" Loki said with a sigh, looking unconvinced.

"You tried to take over a planet that's well defended. You should have run when you were losing."

"I'm nothing if not ambitious. I believe that is another characteristic we share." Loki took a step forward, looking down at Tony with keen interest. Stark truly was different from the others. What's more, he didn't back down. "You and I aren't so different, Stark. We're only fighting on different sides."

"Are we?" he said, his face remaining neutral. "It looks like you have no choice but to work with us, so you'd better start making friends. You could use one right about now because, as it stands, there's no one on your side." Tony paused, then leaned in and squinted. "What happened to your eyes? There's something diff-"

"Nothing." Loki snapped, turning and walking a good distance away. Stark was too observant for his own good, and Loki really didn't want to talk about his father... or his not-father. No, he must _stop _calling Odin his father, Odin was nothing of the sort. Odin was manipulative, dishonest, cruel...

"Loki." Tony said, causing the trickster to turn around yet again. He was still seething over thoughts of his not-father. "There's room on the next floor, you should stay there. It's away from Thor and everyone else."

Loki blinked. Was Stark being... nice? That was senseless and ridiculous and... simply unexpected. Stark hadn't been hostile toward him, Stark hadn't told him to leave, and Stark hadn't taken everyone else's side. Stark _had _offered him a drink and a home. Stark was willing to speak with him. Now _that _was surprising. He had no idea what to think of Tony Stark now. Usually Loki hated men he couldn't completely understand, but this time the mystery was almost pleasant. Perhaps this was the one mortal on this pathetic planet that was worth something.

Tony must have noticed that the trickster had calmed down a bit, because he shook his head. "Don't get any ideas. I don't want you killing my friends, that's all. Jarvis?"

"Yes sir?" the A.I. responded in a voice that sounded highly uninterested.

"Loki's welcome anywhere but my workshop and outside. Don't let him out of the tower."

"Very well, sir. Will Mister Odinson-"

"No Jarvis, he's got daddy issues. Loki's good."

"Shall I hire a therapist for Mister Loki as well, sir?"

Loki smirked. Jarvis was nearly as amusing as Stark was. "No. Perhaps you could tell me all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets instead, I'm sure you're privy to them."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mister Loki."

"I jest." Loki looked at Tony for a moment before glancing around. "Does this building have stairs? I'm not sure that I like the little transportation room very much."

"What, they don't have elevators in Asgard? Oh right, they have rainbows. Down the hall and to the left." Tony remained where he was while Loki turned to leave. "And hey, stop being moody."

Loki rolled his eyes as he walked down the hall. Stark was tolerable. Now that he thought about it, Stark was the least horrible thing he'd come into contact with since he returned to Asgard.

Maybe he'd thank the mortal later.

* * *

**Oh look, they're almost friendly! Almost. It's a love-hate thing, you know.**

**I shall try to update soon. Farewell until then!**

**~Nightlance**


	6. Alarms

**Hello wonderful readers!**

**I apologize for not being more active with the updates, but I've just moved to a new home and it was a long drive to get here. You wonderful readers keep me going. Now enough about me, go read!**

* * *

Tony woke with a start as Jarvis chimed off the usual alarm clock. A dream, quickly slipping away from his memory, haunted his thoughts with dark figures and skittering shadows that seemed to whisper to him from just out of the corner of his eye... His imagination was getting the best of him again. Damn dreams. Of course Tony wouldn't call them nightmares, because Tony Stark didn't _have _nightmares. He sat up and unceremoniously kicked his sheets off, squinting as Jarvis allowed the morning light into the room. Apparently Pepper had already woken up, since she was nowhere to be seen.

"What time's it?" he mumbled as he stood up, rolling his shoulders stiffly.

"Eight o'clock A.M. sir. It is a balmy twenty seven degrees Fahrenheit outside and the forecast calls for flurries around noon."

"Goodie. Turn up the heat, will you? Cap's going to have a fit if it drops below seventy in here." He walked over to his closet and flung the doors open. "Remind me why I'm up so early?"

"Director Fury has been calling for the past ten minutes, sir. He is being quite insistent that you talk to him."

"Oh right, Patchy the Pirate. Tell you what, I'm going to grab breakfast while he gets antsy." Tony grabbed one of his long sleeved black tees (he had many) and pulled it over his head. A sudden thought occurred to him. "Jarvis, where's our resident bad guy?"

"Mister Loki is currently in the room he has elected to live in. I should inform you though, he does not seem interested in sleeping."

"Cool, add insomnia to the list of his issues." Tony found his jeans in a heap in the corner of the room and pulled them on. He ran his fingers through his currently unkempt mess of hair and walked out into the hallway. The second floor, unlike the first, had wider, more open hallways and contained a few rooms dedicated to research as well as rooms for living. "Where'd the reindeer decide to stay?"

"At the other end of the hall, sir. I did enquire as to his activity, he stated that he simply did not wish to sleep. He was busy thinking from what I gathered."

"He's got to be the angstiest god I've ever met." Tony said, walking down the hall on bare feet. He was glad he'd decided on carpet for this level, it would have been much colder if not for the plush mat of synthetic fiber underfoot.

"Have you met many, sir?"

"Nope. But this one has a whole lot of problems. It's a little bit annoying actually, he's like a needy, moody pet that destroys things and lies all the time."

"Your concern is touching as always."

"Concern?" Tony said, stopping at Loki's door. "That bastard doesn't deserve concern. I don't care what punishment he's already had, if I wasn't there to see it then it doesn't count."

Why was he checking on bag-of-cats Loki anyway? Probably because there was nothing better to do other than pick a fight with Steve. In light of last night that didn't seem like the best idea, so Tony would avoid it. For now. He didn't bother knocking on the door, he just opened it and walked right in. Loki was sitting on the edge of his perfectly made bed and staring into empty space, looking particularly contemplative.

"Morning sunshine. I hear you don't like sleep, is it too pathetic and mortal for you?" Tony smirked as the trickster's serene features twisted into an exasperated scowl.

"In Asgard, it is customary to alert a room's inhabitants before entering. Does such a courtesy not exist here?" He looked at Tony, who merely shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"We usually knock on the door, but I figured that might be too respectful in your case. You haven't broken anything yet, have you?"

"Not that I am aware of." Loki returned to staring ahead of him. He had to make a conscious effort to ignore Tony, as the mortal's presence was particularly intrusive.

"Good, because Bruce is fragile. By the way, do you ever wear something other than that?"

Loki was wearing his normal Asgardian garb. There wasn't quite as much protection to it as his armor offered, but it still looked formidable. Without warning he stood and walked toward the room's entrance, forcing Tony to take a few steps back. Loki was so much easier to talk to when he wasn't being so _tall._

"Of course I do. Now, did you need something or are you only here to ask trivial questions?"

"Nope, I'm good, just checking to make sure you're not hiding dead bodies in here." With that Tony turned right around and walked out. He had a feeling Loki wouldn't be satisfied with letting this one go, and he was determined to get the angsty psychopath to behave like a normal human. Only he wasn't human. Sure enough, Tony could just make out the sound of quiet footsteps following him as he made his way down the stairs.

The living room's furniture currently featured Clint, who was reclined with his feet on the coffee table, and Bruce, who was studying today's newspaper through the classiest nerd glasses Tony had ever seen. Natasha and Pepper were in the kitchen chatting over coffee.

Clint looked up. He had apparently been reading Bruce's paper from across the table. "Morning. Fury's been calling, he wants you, Bruce, n' Tasha in as soon as possible."

Bruce picked up Steve's shield, which had been left on the sofa next to him. Tony's eyes grew wide.

"Stop. Freeze right there." Tony advanced, eyeing Bruce up and down as if he was suddenly extremely interesting.

"Err... okay, I was just making room for-"

"No, shut up. Jarvis, take a picture." Tony smirked and leaned back to admire the scene. "You're a star-spangled Banner. So patriotic! Steve would be proud."

Bruce rolled his eyes and set the shield aside while Clint was reduced to snickering. They were much more relaxed this morning, which was probably a good sign. Thor and Steve were the ones he was concerned about. Thor would be a conflicted mess with his loyalties drawn so thin, and Steve was just going to be the usual stalwart defender of all things good. He'd make problems as long as Loki was present.

Speaking of Loki, the trickster caught up with Tony just as Bruce had gone back to reading. Clint stared at him for a moment, then decided it would be best to keep whatever biting comments he had in mind to himself. So far the morning was going better than expected.

"Jarvis, where are Capsicle and Thor?" Tony said, walking over to the expansive kitchen and pouring himself a cup of coffee. Pepper gave him her characteristically happy 'good morning' and Natasha just nodded.

"Steve is unpacking what looks like his entire wardrobe in his room and, judging by the volume of his snoring, Thor is still asleep."

"Wake him up, will you? Gently though, I don't need him destroying the room with Mjolnir because you've surprised him. Tell Rogers we still have S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff to discuss too."

"I am doing so as we speak." Jarvis said as Tony reached for the sugar.

"What is that?" Loki whispered over Tony's shoulder, making him jump and nearly drop the mug in his hand.

He pivoted to face the trickster, who was grinning down at him from an uncomfortably close position. How _was_ he so _quiet_? "Damn it Loki! Don't do that."

"Do what? Ask questions?" he said, observing as Stark added two spoons of sugar to the dark liquid and began stirring fervently. Probably covering up his nerves.

"Don't... be so sneaky. I'm going to have to put a bell on you if you keep that up."

Loki raised an eyebrow, obviously missing the joke. "My apologies, I was unaware that you mortals startled so easily."

"Usually we don't," Tony said, adding cream to his coffee and walking around Loki to join the others. He kept as much of a distance between them as he could, but with Loki following him around it was proving difficult to get more than a few feet away. "But," he continued as he sat down next to Bruce, "It's not like we usually have Asgard's Most Wanted hanging out. You've got everyone on edge."

Tony pulled up S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files on the screen again while Loki settled for hovering near the kitchen with a satisfied smirk. So they _were _unsettled having him around. The knowledge that they were still wary of him as a threat made him feel not completely powerless. Even though this foolhardy mission on Midgard still seemed pointless, Loki had to admit he was genuinely curious as to what the mortals had been doing with his previous ally's technology. He would stand by what he said the previous night, that this kind of project didn't seem like a weapon, but what did that leave?

Thor walked into the room, breaking Loki's train of thought with a truly massive yawn. He was wearing truly repulsive mortal clothing and looked out of place among the more average humans in the room. Much to Loki's dismay he headed straight for the kitchen, which included paying Loki a visit on his way.

"Brother!" Thor said unnecessarily loud, giving Loki a staggering pat on the shoulder. "I cannot express how pleased I am to have you with us."

_As if I have a choice, _Loki thought. He was doing his best to keep his expression from betraying his annoyance.

"Speak for yourself." Clint mumbled at Thor's comment. Loki didn't really expect them to accept him as easily as they had, but then again, _they _didn't have much of a choice in the matter either. Still, they weren't obligated to be as jovial as Thor about the situation. Thor just liked having his 'brother' on an adventure with him again, despite his misgivings about Loki's ability to behave.

Thor gave Loki a smile and proceeded to the kitchen, giving him only a moment of peace before Rogers arrived. He wasn't certain who was more insufferable, but at the very least Thor was the one being friendly. Rogers didn't even make an attempt to hide his hatred as their eyes met.

"Nice of you to join us Cap!" Stark said in a voice that nearly matched Thor's in volume. Steve reluctantly turned his attention to the engineer and made his way over to the gathering. It was surprising that Stark would elect to avoid any sort of confrontation; to Loki he seemed the type to _instigate_ a fight. Then again, Stark and Rogers didn't seem to get along very well.

Tony pulled up the diagram they had discovered the previous night just as Thor walked in with what looked like Tony's entire box of Pop-Tarts. He had no doubt Thor would eat most of his food supplies within a few days.

"So, I'm pretty sure Loki was right when he said this doesn't look like a weapon. Let me just explain before you all have a fit." he said hastily as Steve and Clint opened their mouths to protest. By now Natasha and Pepper had joined the group. Tony looked at the screen, continuing. "If this is actually a weapon, Fury'd know that I wouldn't have anything to do with it. Bruce too for that matter. So, why would he call either of us in?" There was no beating around the bush with Tony.

The others contemplated this in silence. They knew he was right. They also knew that this meant Loki was right too, which confused them all to no end. He was obligated to help, yes, but they hadn't actually expected him to.

"That changes things." Natasha crossed her arms. "If this is purely research like Fury said, there must be a reason for it. I suggest we find out."

"Absolutely." Tony said, clearing the screen with the wave of a hand. "Jarvis, call Fury and tell him we're coming down there right now."

"All of you sir?"

"Yep, all of us. But don't tell Fury that. Put your coats on boys… and girl." He gave Natasha a smirk, to which he received a shake of the head in reply. "Oh and _you _are staying here." Tony said, turning to Loki. "I don't want Fury shooting you just yet, 'cause I know he would. Let's not start a war, right?"

Loki merely smiled and nodded, then watched silently as the rest split up in a mad scramble to clothe themselves properly for the weather.

Of course he wasn't invited.

But since when did that stop him from doing what he wanted?

* * *

The group had decided that they would speak to Fury together. Strength in numbers and all that. Tony didn't really care what they did, all that mattered to him was how Fury was using his technology. _His. _That he _invented. _Fury had some nerve.

Natasha did all the talking to get them through S.H.I.E.L.D. security, but as it turns out they didn't need many excuses. Most of these agents knew exactly who they were and let them by without hesitation. Tony imagined Fury wouldn't be too thrilled to find out his security was so relaxed, but hey, the Avengers were heroes. Saving the world had its perks.

It seemed impossible that all six of them could fit in the little elevator down to the base's lower levels, but somehow they managed. Natasha took the lead as they piled out of the elevator and headed down the path to the lab Fury had set up. Tony was feeling like a kid in a candy store yet again. Despite their mission, he was distracted by every new room and all the shiny bits of technology they held. He was lagging behind the rest of the group in no time.

"C'mon Stark," Steve said as he glanced over his shoulder. Pffft, what did Steve know about cool technology? Nothing, actually. Steve was clueless when it came to this stuff.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming Cap."

The group had just turned a corner and momentarily disappeared from view. Tony was about to catch up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Must be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. With a sigh he turned to see who wanted his attention.

"Do you need s… What the _hell?_" Loki was standing there, conspicuous as ever, and grinning down at him as if he couldn't possibly be having more fun than he was now. That was probably true.

"What are you _doing _here?" Tony hissed, pulling him aside as if that would keep him from view. Just touching the trickster made his skin prickle, as if Loki was something that should never be touched.

"Did you _honestly _think I would stay put while you mortals went off with Thor? No, this is _much _more entertaining." Loki took a few steps forward to look around the corner.

"Are you _insane? _Do you _want _to let Fury catch you?" Against his better judgment, Tony grabbed Loki's arm and pulled him back. Loki looked mildly annoyed, as if Tony was no more than an inconvenience. This was probably true. Loki could do any number of things to Tony if he really wanted to, so he considered himself lucky that Loki only gave him a scowl.

"I'm supposed to stay with Thor, by Odin's orders. Besides, visibility is an easily remedied condition." Loki grinned and walked off in the direction the others had gone, leaving Tony to catch up. "Honestly Stark, what would _you _do in my position?"

Well, Tony wouldn't accept being left behind either, but he wasn't about to admit that to Loki. "I'd stay at home like a good little criminal." he said, earning a smirk from the trickster.

"You're a terrible liar, Stark."

Tony gave him an indignant look. "Hey! I'd like to think I'm good at everything I do, thanks."

Loki snickered and let Tony take the lead. He was wondering how Loki planned to avoid getting caught in a S.H.I.E.L.D. stronghold like this, but he wouldn't be surprised if Loki could just magic the numerous security cameras into ignoring him. People were an entirely different matter. Speaking of people, Steve chose this moment to round the corner.

"Would you keep up Stark?" he said, his arms crossed in a clear display of annoyance.

Tony froze, knowing very well that Steve wouldn't be happy with having Loki here at _all. _"Err, yeah… I can explain?" he said, looking behind him for said trickster. Only the trickster had… vanished? Loki was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, I know you're easily distracted by things that run on electricity. No need to explain that one. Do I really need to remind you why we're here?" Steve walked off to join the others before Tony had time to come up with any sort of snarky comeback.

"You really weren't kidding, were you?" Tony said under his breath, rushing to catch up this time. He had a feeling Loki was still there somewhere.

"Of course not," Loki said quietly from somewhere behind him, "Though I advise you not to speak to me too often, the others will believe you've gone mad if they catch you talking to thin air."

"I'm already letting you live in my house, how much worse can I get?" Tony could have sworn he heard a laugh, but it was difficult to tell over the sound of echoing footsteps. He figured he should probably keep his mouth shut now, since the others were well within earshot.

Not-so-surprisingly, Nick Fury was waiting for them in front of the large doors to the control center they had visited just yesterday. He had his arms crossed and looked to be in a serious mood, which was also not very surprising. If he was alarmed to see all of the Avengers present he didn't show it.

"We need to talk." Steve said, taking the lead. That was fine, Tony wasn't keen on arguing with Fury anyway. He just wanted information, and that wasn't going to happen so long as they stood around talking.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Your boys have been looking at info they're not supposed to have." Fury said, his expression remaining irritatingly passive. Leave it to S.H.I.E.L.D. to know that Tony and Bruce (but mostly Tony) had downloaded practically all of their super secret files.

"Hey, you invited us. And we're not his 'boys,' last I checked we're our own people. By the way, what's up with using my stuff? I hate it when people use my stuff without my permission, and it kinda looks like that's what you're doing. What's up with the Chitauri-arc reactor hybrid Fury?" Tony needed more answers and less talk.

Bruce nodded in agreement. "What Tony means it we don't like being kept in the dark. Phase Two was just like this, and now it looks like you're working on something else that's dangerous."

Fury looked at them for a moment before turning around to open the doors to the lab. "I understand your concern, but we had every intention of telling you about this. We had hoped you wouldn't be this impatient, but now it looks like we're going to have to let you in the loop earlier than we'd anticipated."

"Do you understand though?" Tony said as they followed him into the lab. "Because last time you thought it was totally cool to keep your dirty secrets from us. It's not, by the way."

"Stark, I'm not going to apologize for what happened with Phase Two. If it wasn't for the six of you those weapons might have been necessary." He led them down to the lab in the middle of the room where one of the Chitauri bodies was laid out again. This one was complete with modified armor. It seemed like S.H.I.E.L.D. was much farther along on this project than any of them had originally expected, as it looked like all they needed to complete the picture was an arc reactor.

"Someone's been busy," Tony muttered as they entered the lab. Bruce made a beeline to the alien to inspect what S.H.I.E.L.D. had done.

"Stark, your company has been making good progress with commercial technology lately, but we've got something better for you to do." Fury pulled out the arc reactor Tony had only recently discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. had possession of. "We believe the capability of the Chitauri technology to integrate with a biological system coupled with your arc reactor's energy could change medical technology as we know it."

"Wait… what?" Tony said, looking at Fury in surprise. He certainly couldn't have anticipated this. He _could _anticipate how annoyed Steve would be with him for getting everyone together over something like _this. _

"This Chitauri stuff acts like a secondary nervous system from what we've seen of Bruce's findings. If we can make this system ourselves we can improve the quality of life for many people on this planet."

Bruce looked up at Fury, offering a single nod. "I see what you're saying. If we were able to duplicate this kind of technology we could effectively repair damaged nerves in humans. We'd have to be careful though."

"Why's that?" Fury said, turning to Bruce. Tony had a suspicion Fury didn't really have to ask that question to know the answer.

"This circuitry works much faster than even our nervous systems can. We would have to adapt it to human use before we could do anything with it." Bruce was inspecting the winding cables of technology that converged right at the creature's chest where S.H.I.E.L.D. had modified it to accommodate an arc reactor.

"Which is why we called you two in." Fury said, looking pointedly at Tony. He was acutely aware of Steve glaring at him.

"Alright, so maybe I overreacted… but you have to admit it's a bit suspicious that you didn't tell us about this in the first place. Why didn't you anyway?"

"We wanted you to understand this better before we told you to get Stark Industries working on the project. We know how stubborn you can be, Stark, you don't like being told what to do. It would have worked much better if we nudged you in the right direction and you took over from there. But no, you just had to get curious." Fury walked over to a panel of screens (S.H.I.E.L.D. was _very _fond of their screens) and pulled up various schematics for the armor. Tony wasn't about to say that they'd already seen these diagrams, but he suspected Fury knew anyway. He had to admit that Fury was right about him, there's no way he would agree to something just because S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted him to do it.

"Right. Okay, that makes sense." Tony looked at Steve and gave the captain his approximation of an apologetic look, which turned out just being a shrug. He was going to get hell for this later. Time to change the subject. "Well it looks like you're ready for much more than theoretical work."

"We were only waiting on you and Bruce for the testing phase. Since we're ahead of schedule we might as well start." Fury pulled up a page full of programming and stepped back to let Tony take a look. "We just want to see if we can make this thing work. Stark, you can program, why don't you write something that'll give us control."

"I'll do better than that." Tony said, pulling up one of his own files. He'd downloaded Jarvis on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database months ago just to keep an eye on things. They'd never be able to find his files, of course. It only took a moment for the program to be up and running. "Jarvis, you there?"

"Completely operational, sir." came the A.I.'s reply.

"Cool. We're going to write a program for a nervous system."

"If I may, sir, you will have far more precise control over this armor if you directly download my program to the system. Attempting manual control will take months to refine." Jarvis was right. Tony liked this idea; at least this way he'd be able to just tell Jarvis what to do and he'd do it. Jarvis wasn't as likely to listen to Fury either, which was definitely a plus.

Tony held out his hand to Fury. "My arc reactor, please." The director offered the device without question, but Tony withdrew his hand and pointed to the console in front of him. "I forgot, I don't like being handed things. Put it there." Reluctantly, Fury set the reactor down and Tony snatched it back up again. Upon further inspection Tony could see that this was indeed from Rhodey's suit. They would have to have a talk later.

While the engineer was busy transferring Jarvis' files to the arc reactor, Bruce was looking at the Chitauri. "Director, have your scientists been working on these bodies? It's as if they haven't decayed at all."

"We've had them in stasis, Doctor Banner. They aren't supposed to decay." By his tone, Tony could imagine Fury adding a 'duh' to his statement.

"Even in stasis there would be some hint of cellular degradation…" Bruce trailed off, sounding puzzled.

"I'm sure it's nothing big guy," Tony said, taking the newly recalibrated arc reactor over to the Chitauri. "Can we test this thing now?"

As he looked up for Fury's permission, Tony finally noticed the rest of the group. They were standing near the door looking disappointed. Clearly they had either been hoping for something interesting to happen or, in Steve's case, were annoyed that they'd been dragged out here for a false alarm. And of course Loki was around here somewhere, he just didn't know where.

"Go ahead." Fury sounded impatient. As if he had somewhere to go… actually now that Tony thought about it, Fury probably _did _have somewhere to go. He gently set the arc reactor in its housing, twisting it until it clicked into place. It glowed a bit brighter for a moment, then settled back to its idle glow.

"Well… that was underwhelming." Steve said from the door. "Can we leave now?"

"Yes, we don't need you to take readings. No offense." Fury was already calling in his scientists to take a look.

"Readings? Readings are boring, let's have some fun." Tony smirked and looked at the unmoving creature. "Jarvis, make it raise its arm."

Obligingly, the Chitauri's right arm rose. Tony gave the others a satisfied smirk. Even the rest of the Avengers looked mildly interested now.

"That's freaky." Clint said, to which the others murmured their agreement. "Well, at least we know it works."

"Hey, Tony?" Bruce said, looking at the Chitauri skeptically, "Was Jarvis supposed to make its eyes open?"

"What?" Tony looked back to the body. It was motionless save for its eyes, which had indeed opened and were looking around. "Jarvis, what are you doing?"

"I'm afraid I have lost control of the system, sir. The creature is conscious."

Everyone froze. "It can't be conscious, it's dead. Jarvis, it's _dead._"

"It appears your observation is incorrect sir."

"That's completely-" Before he could say 'ridiculous' the Chitauri hit Tony and Bruce with force enough to send them backward several feet. It leapt to its feet and, just as Natasha, Clint, and Fury had drawn their weapons, it darted out the door. The thing was fast. _Impossibly _fast. The rest of the Avengers and Fury went running after the reanimated alien while Tony and Bruce got to their feet.

"You alright?" Tony asked. He was a bit worried about the 'other guy' making an appearance, but so far Bruce looked like he was in control.

"I'm fine, but that… thing… It could be extremely dangerous." They made their way to the door just as an alarm started blaring and armed agents rushed by.

"Why? The Chitauri we fought last summer weren't exactly tough for our standards."

"You don't understand, Tony. They all relied on the energy transferred to them by their mothership. That energy was sent through the air and was shared among hundreds, maybe thousands of them. Their armor has the capacity to give them much more power and dexterity than what we saw. You just gave it an unlimited, extremely powerful source of energy."

"Oh." That was all Tony could think to say. This was turning out to be much worse than what they had previously thought, even if this wasn't what S.H.I.E.L.D. had intended. Of _course _their super secret project had to go horribly wrong, why had he expected anything else?

"In that case perhaps you two should stay out of the way." Loki was behind them again, and completely visible this time. By his expression it looked like he was quite entertained by the situation.

"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked, genuine surprise coloring his voice. Such inflection was unlike him.

"Never mind him, who cares? We gotta leave." Tony was already heading for the door. He knew better than to tangle with this Chitauri without his suit. Another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent passed by with a gun in one hand and a radio in the other.

Tony caught a voice from the other end of the receiver. "…at the weapons storage, fall back, f…" The voice fizzled out and the agent stopped, looking uncertain.

"That doesn't sound good." Bruce said as he and Loki joined Tony. As if on cue, a deafening blast and a flash of blue light knocked them all off their feet.

The last thing Tony remembered was seeing the ceiling begin to crumble, and the walls around them come crashing down.

* * *

_**Finally. **_**Now we can have some FUN.**

**Hope you're enjoying so far, and feel free to review! I love your input.**

**Until next time,**

**~Nightlance**


	7. Escape

**Oh hello there faithful readers! You all mean so much to me, and I'm always thinking of you when writing these chapters. I do try to please when I can, I just hope I'm doing a good job of it. Oh also, I've been good with the cursing up until now, just as a warning. Probably won't be this tame all the time.**

**Now, a chapter for you!**

* * *

Everything had gone dark. Somewhere the alarm was still shrieking, but it sounded so very far away. Occasionally a light would flicker, just long enough to illuminate the wreckage of whatever that explosion had been. It took Loki a moment to remember why he was on the ground in the middle of ruin. The ambient ringing in his ears made everything that much more disorienting.

Chitauri. Just one. But one was enough this time.

Loki sat up, disturbing the thin layer of dust he'd accumulated and alerting him to a rather sharp pain in his left leg, just below the knee. It didn't feel broken- Loki knew that feeling well enough from his adventures with Thor- but he doubted it would hold his weight. Well if that wasn't inconvenient… He could always try healing it, but that took too much energy and he- no, _they_- still needed to escape this place. Speaking of the others, it was awfully quiet in here besides the settling of the debris and the alarms outside. He wondered vaguely if the others were dead already.

There was still a Chitauri out there. Somewhere.

Loki cringed, thankful that the darkness would hide his trepidation from whoever might be there to observe. The Other promised retribution should he fail, and he had failed. Loki had thought it would take them years to find him, decades even, and he had planned to do everything in his power to be gone from Asgard by then. Now there was a Chitauri right here on Midgard. He didn't know why this made him feel so anxious, it was just _one_ of the creatures after all. Surely it would be easy to defeat. Right?

The trickster pushed himself onto his knees, hissing as his leg throbbed in protest. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he noticed the only consistent light in the room was filtering through spaces in the ceiling. It looked like whole sections of the ceiling had fallen, but thankfully the majority had remained intact. The dim emergency lighting coming from above was just enough to illuminate shapes and outlines. This would only be useful in getting his bearings, but beyond that Loki might as well be blind.

"Hello?" came a whisper from the darkness, making Loki look around for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" he demanded. He had forgotten that the voice could really only belong to two people. The ringing in his ears made it difficult to tell.

A soft sigh, then movement. "Oh, it's you. Try not to come too close."

So it was Banner. Loki didn't need to ask why he couldn't come close; the other man's controlled calm could only be held for so long and the sight of an old enemy might be enough to set him off. Under normal circumstances Loki considered Banner's control impressive, but in these conditions it was downright miraculous. He had no doubt that the Hulk would bury them all in an attempt to escape.

Loki waited a moment, but the other man didn't say anything else. "Are you… alright?" he asked, the question sounding just as forced as it felt.

"I'm fine. Where's Tony?"

He looked around, but he didn't know any more than Banner did. Stark hadn't been this quiet since Loki had met the engineer. "I'm not sure. I hope he's still breathing." Actually, that was the truth. Of all the mortals he'd met, Stark was the last one he'd wish death upon.

"One second." Banner said, and Loki heard the sound of movement again. A moment later a bright light illuminated their surroundings, casting stark shadows in every direction. Squinting, Loki could see that Banner was seated leaning against the wall, and was holding his little mobile device up like a torch. The gadget did the trick; everything was visible in the glaring white light.

"That's much better." Loki muttered, searching the room. It didn't take him long to find Stark. "Look, just there…" He inclined his head toward a pile of rubble.

"Where is- oh." Bruce stood up hastily and made his way over to the wreckage. Tony wasn't conscious by the look of it, and he was pinned under a metal beam that must have been part of the wall before the explosion. Banner wasted no time in kneeling beside the engineer and checking his vitals. "He's alive. We have to free him."

Loki got to his feet, testing his leg to see if it would hold his weight. It did, though not without a stab of pain. Well, at least he could stand. "Is he injured?"

"I can't tell. It looks like he's got a few minor injuries, but I won't know if he's alright until we get this thing off him." Bruce cast a doubtful look at the beam lying across Tony's chest. Only a fraction of its weight was on the inventor, but it was enough to keep him trapped until they could move it. Stark's face was riddled with bruises and abrasions, but nothing that looked serious. He wouldn't be too happy with his self-proclaimed good looks being tarnished. Banner turned around and beckoned for Loki to come closer.

Loki obliged, though he couldn't get anywhere without limping. Banner scowled and looked the trickster up and down, moving to give him some room. "That laceration looks pretty bad…" Bruce went back to checking on Tony as Loki joined him.

"Where?" he asked, looking over the inventor and sizing up the beam that had him trapped.

"No, not him, you." Bruce pointed to his leg, which Loki hadn't looked at until now. Banner hadn't been kidding either. The leather of his pants was torn and soaked with blood, and there was a jagged gash across his calf that merited even _his _concern. That explained why it hurt so much. Bruce, though preoccupied by Stark's condition, actually looked worried about Loki as well. "Can your kind bleed to death?"

"Well yes," Loki said, kneeling and inspecting the metal beam, "But it takes much more than that. Is this concern for your long lost enemy, Banner?"

Bruce snorted and gave Loki what would have been a comical eye roll in any other situation. "No. You might just be useful in getting rid of our newest trouble. You'd be less useful dead or otherwise incapacitated." He sighed and checked Stark's vitals again. "He's stable, but we're not going anywhere like this. Could you… I don't know, magic this thing off him?"

Loki looked at Bruce with a raised brow. "What kind of question is this? Of course I could, but why use magic when it isn't necessary?" He placed his hands beneath the beam, looking poised to lift it.

Bruce was gazing at him with an extremely confused expression. "What are you doing? You can't lift that… can you?"

Loki sighed and gave Bruce a glare. "_Of course _I can you b-" he paused, many 'B' words coming to mind. Namely 'beast', 'bastard', and 'bumbling mortal idiot'. "You… Banner. I may not have all of my brother's strength but I am _not _as meek and feeble as you mortals are. Do you _really_ think so little of me?"

Bruce sighed. "Well… I _have _seen you fight some of our best. If you're even a match for Steve or Thor then I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Besides," Loki said, glancing around at their surroundings, "Removing the beam entirely could destabilize the rest of this debris and send it crashing down on top of us. It's much safer to move it long enough to rescue the… Stark."

"_The_ Stark?" Banner chuckled, readying himself to grab Tony when he could. Truly the inventor's state was concerning to both of them; this extended amount of time spent not listening to the sound of his own voice must have been detrimental to Tony's health.

Loki didn't respond verbally, but gave Bruce a scathing look. He lifted the beam- which was heavy, but manageable- and held it just long enough for Bruce to drag Tony out into the clear. He dropped it as soon as Stark was safe, resulting in the ominous rumble of unsettled wreckage around them.

"Something tells me this place isn't going to be standing for long." Bruce said, checking Stark over more thoroughly this time. "We need to find the others and get out."

"Thank you for that observation. I'd surely be lost without you." Loki said dryly, looking at Tony as if he was a curiosity. "You mortals truly _are _delicate."

Bruce sighed for what seemed like the tenth time in the past few minutes. "Alright, you want to get out of here faster? Have you got any magical cure for unconsciousness?"

Loki sat for a moment in thought, then reached out and smacked Tony across the face without warning. The inventor gasped, then coughed as he inhaled a cloud of dust. This, in turn, made him wince. "Wh… what… what the _fuck _just happened? I feel like… like the _Hulk _sat on me!"

Loki snickered while Bruce fussed over Tony. "I said _magic _Loki, not physical trauma!"

"What? That _was _magic to me, I didn't think it would work." Loki enjoyed their looks of outrage for only a moment before Tony reached up and slapped him similarly across the face.

"That's what _you _get!" He ignored Loki's indignant snarling and looked at Bruce. "Seriously, please tell me the Hulk didn't sit on me. It feels like someone took a hammer to my ribs… Wait, did Thor hit me with Mumblewhatever?"

"Mjolnir," Loki corrected.

"Yes, I _said _whatever!" Tony punctuated his statement with a cough, causing Bruce to continue his fervent checking-Stark-over routine.

"There was an explosion somewhere in the building, you don't remember?" Bruce inquired, checking Stark's pupils with his cell phone's light. "Do you remember who you are?"

"Only the most attractive genius around. The world would be nothing without me." Without missing a beat he shot the two a wink, making Bruce sigh yet again and prompting Loki's scowl reflex into action.

Loki stood and walked (limped) over to the door, which was clear of debris and looked to be in working condition. If only he knew the little code that would open it… Well, hitting it with magic might do the trick. Mortal technology was so simple.

"You're lucky Tony," Bruce said as Stark swatted him away, "Looks like a few cracked ribs are the most severe of your injuries. This could have been a whole lot worse."

"Worse? I feel like I've been used as Steve's punching bag! Let me see what other Avenger jokes I can make…" Tony coughed again, but pushed Banner away as he tried to inspect him some more. "Can we get out of here?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Loki passed his hand in front of the key pad, making the things fizzle as the door slid open on its own.

"Did you see that Bruce?" Tony said in a hushed voice, "He's a Jedi."

Bruce stood up and offered his hand to Tony, which the inventor ruefully accepted after a failed attempt to stand on his own. They joined Loki at the door, Tony looking a bit unsteady on his feet. No matter how many times Bruce offered his help, though, Tony would refuse it.

Only one of the hallways leading away from the room was clear, so they didn't have much of a choice in the direction they would take. There were enough lights on out here that Bruce could put his phone away, but Tony snatched it out of his hand as he went to put it in his pocket. "Brucy Bruce, let's try calling them."

"Last time I checked there's no signal however far down we are." The trio paused as Tony leaned against an intact wall, fiddling with the cell. Bruce took every opportunity he could to check the inventor's health, which earned Stark's irritated glances.

"Can you _not_ do that?" Tony said as Bruce insisted on checking his pulse again. "It's an invasion of my personal bubble. Can't you check on Mister Mischief or something? He looks less healthy than I am."

Loki scoffed and narrowed his eyes at Tony. "I'm perfectly fine, Stark, no thanks to _you._"

"Me? What did _I _do?" Stark asked, continuing to work on the little device to whatever end he hoped to accomplish.

"You and your _S.H.I.E.L.D. _friends gave that Chitauri life! I am going to be _stuck _on this _miserable _realm until this is _fixed. _Do you realize what an inconvenience this is?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry for keeping you from whatever important thing you have to do off in Asgard. By the way, whose fault is it that this alien is on our planet in the first place?" Stark dialed something in on the phone and brought it to his ear, giving Loki a scathing look.

The trickster stepped forward and glared, once again too close for Tony's comfort. "Do not mock me Sta-"

"Shut _up, _I'm on the _phone._" Tony was satisfied when Loki crossed his arms and remained silent, so he went back to listening to his dial tone. Loki walked away a few paces, only to be met by Banner's worried expression.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm…" Loki stopped himself before his tone became too venomous. Bruce of all people was just trying to help, and Loki supposed he didn't really deserve _all _of the trickster's hate. Neither of these two did. They were the clever ones among the mortals and, surprisingly, they were the most tolerable. No, Loki wouldn't snap at them. At least he would _try _not to snap at them. "I am weary, but I'm fine. You should focus your efforts on escape."

"Yeah, about that…" Bruce hesitated, wringing his hands together and looking around, "I don't think there's any way out. I noticed the side of the building hit worst was where the elevator was, and I'm not sure how many other escape routes there are."

Meanwhile, Tony had apparently gotten the mobile device to work. "Hello? Steve? Speak up Cap, you sound fuzzy." Considering how inept Rogers was with most technologies it was a considerable accomplishment that he knew how to answer a cellphone.

Bruce shook his head and looked back at Loki, lowering his voice. "Can you do anything? Anything at all?"

Loki raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… I don't know… Can you help us get out? I hate to keep asking you for magic, but…"

"Yes, I understand." Loki looked over to Stark, who was now yelling into the receiver for coherent directions from Steve. "I could… try something, but I cannot guarantee that it will work."

Bruce nodded hastily. "Anything's better than nothing. What can you do?"

"Well… I could attempt to teleport us all out, but I've never tried such a thing with so many people. I'm afraid it's no easy task in the first place." Loki paused, observing Banner's eager expression. "You would trust me?"

"We're depending on each other here, aren't we? We have to trust you if we're going to work with you."

Loki nodded, though he was quite perplexed by this. Not only would they give him trust, they would put their very lives in his hands… Of course these were desperate times, but it seemed unlikely that these mortals would so willingly rely on him. Even if Stark and Banner were being tame, the rest were unlikely to be so civil.

Tony finally lowered the phone and handed it back to Banner. "Come on, they're waiting for us. Fury thinks that Chitauri is still in the building, so we'd better be careful."

The three were on the move again. Loki and Tony could only move so fast, but the engineer said the others were nearby. Soon enough Loki found himself wondering what Stark's idea of 'nearby' was; any farther and he might just have to start complaining. The silence was much worse than the walking, though he had to admit his leg was bothering him. He'd never say such a thing out loud though. No, Loki was far too proud for that, but he would welcome a distraction nonetheless. "Stark?"

The engineer twisted to face Loki, though it looked as if the action pained him. Something that felt like sympathy made the trickster frown and mentally remind himself he was dealing with mortals, not friends. After composing himself Tony wore his usual expression of disinterest. "What?"

"Why not be like the rest of your companions?"

Tony paused, allowing Loki to catch up. "You mean, why am I not an insufferable ass to you?"

The trickster smirked as they continued, Bruce trailing behind. "For lack of more eloquent words, yes."

"Eh… let's just say we've all been the bad guy at some point. Except Steve. He thinks he's perfection incarnate, it's kind of annoying." Stark paused, then gave Loki a sideways glance. "I'd like to think that if there's bad in everyone, there's room for a little good too."

Loki couldn't help but laugh. "You expect me to be anything other than… well, _me?_" He smirked and looked forward again, ducking some hanging wires in his path. "I've long given up on serving anyone other than myself."

Tony's expression remained impassive, but Loki thought, if only for a moment, the inventor smiled. "And look at you now. Helping us mortals, because we're too stupid for our own good. Right?"

"Yes, but only on Odin's orders…"

"Stop it with that. You and I both know you'd do whatever you want, regardless of what big bad Daddy says. You've yet to kill any of us, or even try, so what's stopping me from thinking you've already changed?"

Loki scowled. "He is _not _my father. And you are wrong, Stark, I haven't changed."

Tony was right though. Infuriatingly correct. Of course Loki would defy Odin if he really wanted to, the All-father's punishment was not enough to stop him. It had been a convenient excuse to go along with the mortals, to help them only because he had no other choice. But the truth? He had more freedom here than he did in Asgard, and he was enjoying it. Even if he wasn't in his rightful place as a ruler, and even if he was among _mortals _of all people, Midgard had a certain allure that Asgard would always lack. Asgard was downright repulsive these days. Ruling it would be satisfying to an extent, but destroying it might finally bring him peace.

_Peace. What an idealistic sentiment._

Stark shrugged as they maneuvered around a particularly tricky pile of rubble. Something about his smug attitude was irritating. Before Loki could say anything though, Bruce had grabbed them both by the arm and pulled them back. He pressed a finger against his lips in a request for silence. "Do you hear something?"

The three became still, listening intently for whatever Bruce had heard. At some point during their journey the sounds of alarms stopped, leaving the place eerily quiet. Every spark of a wire and every falling rock echoed through the empty hallways, but they had yet to come across another living thing. Simply standing around and hearing the sounds in the dim destruction made the place that much more foreboding. After about a minute of disappointing silence, however, Tony sighed and moved to continue down the hallway. "There's nothing there, c'mon."

"Shh! Tony, stop!" Bruce said frantically, grabbing the engineer's arm again. They all froze to listen once more, and this time they heard it.

There were footsteps coming from just above them. Someone was walking around on the next floor up, and whoever it was stopped nearly as soon as the trio had silenced themselves.

"That could be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, could it not?" Loki uttered in a voice so soft it was barely audible.

The other two nodded, but no one seemed willing to say anything else. After a moment of waiting they heard the steps heading away in the direction they had come from. Bruce breathed a sigh of relief and they all turned to leave, but another sound caught their attention.

"Is that you, Loki of Asgard?"

Tony and Bruce would have heard the Chitauri's native tongue, no more than chattering snarly nonsense. But not Loki. He spoke the All-tongue just as any Asgardian would, and he understood the creature's language as if it was his own. And it knew he was here. It also knew that its army had lost the battle, so it would be out for revenge on those who defeated it. And the leader who had failed it.

"We need to leave. Now." Loki said hurriedly and encouraged the other two down the hallway. They set off at a steady jog, but just as soon as they made it to the next passage the ceiling where they had been standing mere moments before gave way. The Chitauri jumped down from the floor above, brandishing a long spear-like weapon it had stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession; one of the many energy weapons they had seen the Chitauri use during the battle. Loki glanced back just long enough to see it bare its teeth and set off after them.

"This way!" Tony said, taking off down a different hallway. The other two followed, but the Chitauri was not far behind. It had gotten so much closer in so little time… Loki began to wonder about what Banner mentioned about its augmented strength. How could the thing be so _fast?_ Loki knew Stark and Banner were outmatched without the Iron Man suit and the Hulk, neither of which would be easily accessible at the moment. Loki might be able to handle the creature, but he had never been the warrior type. He was a strategist above all else, and rushing headlong into a fight against an enemy he did not yet fully understand was _not_ a valid strategy.

"How much further?" Bruce asked as they rounded another corner, ducking an energy blast that narrowly missed their heads.

"In here." Tony said, abruptly darting from the path and opening one of the many lab doors. The three rushed inside and hastily closed the door behind them, bolting it. As if that would keep the Chitauri out for long. They took a moment to catch their breath, Loki balancing on his good leg and leaning against the wall. It wasn't until they looked around that they saw the rest of the Avengers barricaded in the room, gathered around Fury. Curiously there weren't any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents about. The director probably had them out alien hunting. All eyes were on the three in a matter of moments, and in time enough to blink, Clint, Natasha, and Fury had all drawn their weapons and pointed them at Loki. Even Steve picked up a gun from somewhere and had his sights trained on the trickster.

"Oh hey, what's up guys?" Tony said, breathless. Bruce looked extremely uncertain, as if he didn't quite know whose side he was supposed to be on.

Fury looked… well, furious. "What's up? _What's up? _We've got a rogue alien running loose and a base that's falling apart and you bring in _this _guy?" He looked at Loki. "You've got about three seconds to explain what you're doing here before I start shooting."

"Yeah. I thought you were staying back at the tower." Steve said, to which Fury looked even more dissatisfied.

"Excuse me? You _knew_ about this?"

Steve looked abashed as he realized his mistake, but that didn't take away his resolve. "It's a long story."

Thor was the only one to advance, though more out of concern than aggression. Fury was highly annoyed that the Thunderer crossed into his line of sight, but to Thor this was of no consequence. "How fare you brother?"

Loki sighed. Thor's concern reminded him too much of days gone by, but in light of the convenient protection he was currently offering, his attention wasn't altogether unwelcome. "Well enough."

Thor somehow managed to ignore Fury's angry torrent of threats. "You're injured."

"You're not. I'm disappointed." Loki gave Thor a smirk. He was only half kidding.

A loud bang at the door snapped everyone's attention back to their present situation. Bruce and Tony hastily joined the others, and Fury (extremely reluctantly) pointed his weapon at the door.

"We'll have to take a stand here before we can escape. If we can escape." Leave it to Fury to be negative. "Even if we kill this thing, getting out of here's not going to be easy."

Another bang, and this time… it wasn't at the door? This one sounded like it was coming from above. Everyone pointed their weapons to the ceiling.

"I don't think it's trying to get in," Clint said, backing away from where the noise had come from.

"No," Steve agreed, lowering his gun. "It's trying to bury us."

Fury crossed his arms, weapon still in hand. "Well shit. I, for one, am _not _going to stay trapped in a corner."

"I don't think any of us are keen on that idea." Bruce leaned over to look past Thor, nodding toward Loki. "Right?"

The trickster frowned. "I suppose not." He managed to step around Thor and beckon to the others as another blast shook the walls around them. This time a light rain of dust fell from the ceiling and the walls began to crack. Bruce and Tony hastily joined him in the middle of the room, and after a moment, so did Thor. Loki suspected Thor already knew the plan.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Fury barked, looking about ready to shoot something.

Loki sighed and beckoned for the others once more, slightly more exasperated this time. "Leaving. Care to join us?" He smirked at the indecision on Fury's face. There were few things more satisfying than confusing the Director like this, but Natasha's obstinate expression came very close.

"What, you mean like… magic?" Clint asked, relaxing the tension on his bowstring.

"Yes, now come along. Or would you rather wait to be buried?" They didn't need to be told again at the sound of another blast; this one caused a few ominous cracks in the surrounding structures. The remaining four gathered around looking anxious, but their determination to live was far stronger than any fear they might have of Loki's magic.

Loki raised his hands, his palms facing upward. It had been a long time since he tried something like this… He felt slightly out of practice. He took a deep breath, acutely aware of the nervous mortals around him. Was he really helping them this time around? It seemed so unbelievable. Loki closed his eyes and began whispering a spell. The familiar tingle of magic worked its way through his spine and down his fingers, and with any hope the mortals he intended to bring with him could feel it too. He raised his hands a little higher, made his voice a little louder, and…

He really hoped this would work.

* * *

**Look, there was some character development! And let me tell you, this isn't the last of Tony and Loki's troubles, this is just the beginning. I hope you enjoyed this one! I adore your reviews, and the more I get the more motivated I am to write.**

**As always, thank you for reading. Until next time!**

**~Nightlance**


	8. Alliance

**Your kind and generous words are absolutely overwhelming. I love you people.**

**Here, have a chapter!**

* * *

Tony wasn't exactly sure what he expected teleportation to feel like, but he hadn't anticipated this. It felt as if he'd been thrown in every direction, and all sensation of sight and sound were replaced by the feeling of flying. It wasn't altogether unpleasant for the few seconds he was floating in whatever magicy state Loki had put them in, but the euphoria didn't last. His senses came back to him in a nearly tangible snap, accompanied by a severe case of vertigo and an impact that left him breathless. It took him a few seconds to realize the thing he'd hit was the floor of… where was he?

"Alright, you'd better start explaining." he heard from somewhere nearby. Fury, definitely. He shook his head to clear the dizziness, but that didn't seem to work out very well. Still, he wasn't just going to lay there.

"I… do _not_… answer to you." Loki's reply. The trickster sounded breathless and far too quiet. Not his usual quiet either, he sounded exhausted. Tony propped himself up on his elbows, remembering all too late the condition he was currently in. He gasped as a stab of pain brought him to a halt, recalling what Bruce had mentioned about his ribs. Well he'd have to avoid any sudden movements for the time being. Well, at least he felt alright when he wasn't moving.

The sound of Fury's voice got his attention again. "May I remind you who's currently pointing the gun at whom? I want answers." Tony could see that Fury and Thor were the only ones standing. Loki was on his knees, and it looked as if he could hardly keep himself from collapsing. The others were all looking just as disoriented as Tony had been. Clint and Natasha were currently engaged in a comical attempt to disentangle themselves; apparently Nat's hair was caught in Clint's bow and she was _not _happy. They were kinda cute when they were on the verge of punching each other. Tony sat up, slowly this time, and looked around. Loki had the common sense to bring them all back to Stark Tower, specifically his living room, which was a huge relief. Tony had been worried they'd be stuck off in Siberia or somewhere equally as obscure. Maybe Hammer Industries. That would be a laugh.

"Nick Fury," Thor said, standing beside Loki and raising Mjolnir, "Do not trouble my brother with such demands. He is here on Odin's orders as part of his penance for his crimes. He is only accompanying me." Loki looked pissed, and Tony couldn't really blame him. He could tell the trickster hated being this vulnerable, but there was little Loki could do.

"And you're here because?" Fury asked, his weapon still pointed at Loki. His eye was on Thor, indicating the direction of his question.

"Your experimentation caught our attention, even from realms away. You were meddling in technology far greater than your comprehension. We came to prevent something like this from happening, and we find that we were already too late!" Thor was raising his voice, looking quite angry himself.

Fury returned his attention to Loki. "So you had good intentions. Fine. What did you do to that Chitauri corpse?"

"What did _I _do?" Loki hissed, raising his head to look at Fury. "I did _nothing, _this was _your _doing."

Tony got to his feet and brushed off the front of his shirt. Everyone looked as if they'd been painted a mottled shade of gray for the amount of dust they'd accumulated. Bruce was just getting to his feet beside him, and Steve was already strategically placing himself out of Fury's line of sight to avoid the director's ire. It didn't really matter though, Fury only had eyes (well, _one_ eye) for Loki.

"You're telling me that a dead alien coming to life and you just conveniently showing up is a coincidence? I'm not buying it."

"Director?" Bruce said, raising his hand slightly. Tony thought he looked a bit like a frightened student asking for permission to speak. "I think he's telling the truth."

"Thank you for your opinion, Doctor, but I'll make my own judgments here. Now Loki. What. Did. You. Do?"

Loki got to his feet, putting nearly all his weight on his right leg. He looked paler than usual, if that was even possible. Still, he wore an expression so stubborn that not even Thor would try to help him. Yet.

"Why would I aid that creature? It would have me perish with the rest of you!" He straightened his stance and stood up a bit taller, facing Fury with a determination worthy of his mythological Norse heritage. "The Chitauri are now as much my enemy as they are yours, and they would gladly seek out retribution against us all. They promised as much should I fail them, and I did."

"Brother, why did you not tell us?" Thor asked, lowering Mjolnir and looking at Loki. "Father would protect you, he would-"

"Odin does not _care_, Thor! He is blind to that which he does not wish to see." By now everyone was gathered in a circle, dusting themselves off and sullying Tony's polished floor in the process. Fury looked mollified, if only slightly.

Thor looked uneasy. "Loki, Father loves you far more than you know."

"Love? _Love?_ I was never good enough for Odin! _No_, he spent all his affection on his perfect son, while _I _was left in the dark and _alone._" Loki turned to face Thor, taking a breath before continuing. "_You _made war upon the Jotuns, _you _killed too many of them to count! What did you get? Three days exile on this realm, and you're welcomed back like a _king. _You did the same thing I did, but you were treated like a _hero _while I was shunned. Tell me how _that _is love!"

He was outright yelling now, and no one dared come between the two brothers. Really no one had understood the conflict between Thor and Loki until now; all anyone knew was that Loki was troubled and not exactly Asgardian. Tony had thought Loki was simply jealous of Thor's status and power, but now it seemed like so much greater than that. This was more familiar than Stark cared to admit.

"Listen," Fury said, drawing Loki's attention, "Quite frankly I don't give a damn about your little issues. As far as I'm concerned you could be trying to undermine us even now."

"Alright, stop." Tony said, taking a step forward. As far as he was concerned, this was enough. "Cut the bullshit Fury. Until you have some proof that he _actually _did something against us I'm not wasting my time accusing Loki of anything. If it wasn't for him we'd all be either trapped or dead."

"May I remind you who brought these aliens to our planet, Mister Stark?" Fury growled, "Forgive me if I'm finding it difficult to trust the man who very nearly took our world by storm."

"Is it his fault you started messing with the aliens? I don't think so. This is _no one's _fault Fury, we couldn't have foreseen any of this happening. The technology works better than we anticipated, that's all." Tony scowled and crossed his arms. "If anyone brought that thing back to life it was me."

Fury looked from Tony to Loki, then lowered his weapon. "Fine. Now focus up." He turned to the rest of the group, giving Loki room to breathe. "We're going to have to deal with this situation before it gets out of hand. Steve, I want you on press duty, people like to believe Captain America when he says everything is alright. The rest of you are coming back with me. Hopefully that Chitauri's still trapped, and we'll need to get our agents out of there before the situation gets any worse." He stowed his gun in its holster. "Suit up people."

No one wasted any time. Fury was on the phone with one of his people almost immediately and Natasha was right at his heels, dialing someone else. Clint and Steve went off to put on their uniforms, while Bruce was discreetly checking everyone over for injury. Loki took one searing look at everyone before stalking off, leaving a trail of bloody left footprints behind him. No sooner had Thor moved to go after the trickster did Tony rush to hold him back.

"This is no time for games, Tony Stark." Thor said, pushing Tony aside as if he was nothing more than air. "My brother should not be allowed solitude when he is brooding."

"You mean he's not brooding all the time?" Tony placed a hand on Thor's shoulder, making the Asgardian stop once more. "Listen, I know you want to fix this, but I don't think Loki's going to be happy to see you."

Thor looked hurt. Understandably so, but it was the truth. They both knew Loki would be even angrier if Thor didn't leave him alone. "Yes, you are correct. I only wish I could have my brother back. You must believe me Tony, this is _not_ the true Loki. I will... leave him, for the time being."

Tony nodded appreciatively and turned to leave, but this time it was Thor who held him back. "Will you speak with him?"

"Will I what?" Tony asked in disbelief, turning back around and staring at Thor. "Oh, how do I put this so you'll understand… Art thou _mad?_"

"Please Tony," Thor pleaded, looking desperate. "If there is anyone on this realm he will listen to it's you."

"What the hell gives you that idea?" Tony crossed his arms again, defensively. "Last I checked, he thinks us humans are weak and stupid and not worth his time."

"Most of them, yes. But he doesn't hate you like he hates the others, I've seen you two talking and he might even think you're decent."

As if _that _was any improvement. "All this is based off the fact that he'll _talk _to me? You've got to be kidding."

"Tony, please. I beg of you."

Tony sighed. "Fine. I hate groveling." He narrowed his eyes as Thor smiled happily. "If your lunatic brother kills me I'm blaming you."

"It will be difficult to blame me when you're dead, but I hope all goes well."

"That's comforting." Tony smirked and walked away, following the convenient trail Loki had left behind. The trickster took the stairs again, because elevators just weren't his thing.

"Jarvis, where's Pepper?" he inquired, taking each step carefully to avoid aggravating his already sore chest.

"At a meeting on floor forty-seven, sir. She is finalizing our deal w-"

"Cool, that's all I need to know." Tony reached the top of the stairs and kicked his shoes off, relishing the soft carpet as he made his way to Loki's room. "Jarvis, does Asgardian blood have any dangerous magical properties?" He scowled at the trail of blood that continued down the hallway to the trickster's lodgings. Tony made sure to visit one of the many closets to retrieve a roll of bandages (which were hidden nearly everywhere around Stark Tower) before visiting the resident villain.

"Technically sir, Mister Loki is a Jotun, not an Asgardian. However, I am unaware of any inherently dangerous properties of either Jotun or Asgardian blood."

"Well I hope bleach will get rid of it." Tony stopped at Loki's door and, after thinking about it for a moment, knocked twice. He didn't particularly care if Loki told him to go away, but he wanted to at least give the trickster some scrap of dignity. Maybe he wouldn't end up tossing Tony out a window if he played nice.

"Go away, Thor." How perfectly predictable. Tony found himself mildly surprised that Loki couldn't magically tell who was at the door. Perhaps he could, and he was simply too tired to try. Either way, he was satisfied at Loki's alarmed look when he opened the door and walked in.

"Last time I checked I wasn't blond." Tony leaned against the door frame and watched as Loki rearranged his features into something more neutral. He was doing a remarkably good job at masking his anger, but Tony knew better than to fall for his passive appearance. The trickster was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking drained and downright exhausted, but that didn't mean he was any less dangerous.

"Do you need something, Stark?"

"Honestly? Thor wanted me to check on you and, since I'm not too keen about being on the receiving end of his anger, here I am." He tossed the roll of bandages on the bed, earning the trickster's confused look.

"What's this?"

"Thought you might need it, unless you plan on repainting all my floors red."

He gave Tony an apprehensive look. "How… archaic."

"Really? That's all you can say? No thank you?" Tony shook his head and walked farther into the room, grabbing the chair stationed at Loki's desk and dragging it over to the trickster's bed. He paid no attention to Loki's perturbed expression. "We mortals don't have magic, so that's the best I can do for you."

Loki nodded once, though he seemed unconvinced. "Very well. Tell me Stark, why…" he hesitated, fidgeting with his fingers, "Why would you defend me? I am your enemy, am I not?"

Tony sighed and set the chair down. "Right now I don't consider you an enemy. Should I?" He sat down and scrutinized the trickster as if he was searching for some hint of treachery.

"Well it seems rational, wouldn't you agree?" Loki didn't look particularly content with idly chatting, so he busied himself with removing his (extremely Asgardian leather) boots. "Considering what I've done to you and your people, you would be a fool to trust me."

"I'm not well known for making good decisions. I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

Loki smirked and looked at Tony. "You _are _a fool."

"Well, we have more in common than I thought. I hate saying that. It sounds bad… hell, it _feels _bad, but it's the truth." Tony leaned back and watched the trickster calculate. He could tell this was puzzling to the man.

"Such as?"

"I know what it's like to come in second. To grow up in the shadow of something you can never quite live up to." He paused and watched as Loki suddenly looked attentive. "Maybe I never had a sibling to compete with, but my dad gave all his love to his research. He never had time to tell me what he thought of me, not even if he liked me. It took me years to realize that he really did care, and I'm still not sure how to feel about that. Doesn't really matter now that it's too late."

"Too late? What would you have done?"

"I… I don't know. Maybe there was nothing I could do, but maybe if I'd just told him… I mean, he was my father, I guess… I just don't know." Tony shrugged and looked at his feet.

Loki nodded his assent and picked up the roll of bandages, inspecting it as if it was a curiosity. It didn't seem like he was going to say anything, so Tony continued. "I can only imagine what it must have been like for you, growing up with Thor."

"He really was my brother when we were young, Stark. There was a time when I would have done anything for him, but he grew to love himself more than anything. So did everyone else." Loki drew his leg to his chest and rolled the leather of his pants up. He began wrapping the bandage around his calf, seeming intent on avoiding Tony's gaze. "Physical prowess is the only valued attribute in Asgard. Magic is for the weak in my people's eyes, but it was always my strength. I didn't exactly fit in, nor did I conform to their version of worthy."

"You're making a bloody mess, you know that?" Tony was ignored completely, so he returned to the topic at hand. "What you said back there, about Thor and Jotunwhatever-"

"Jotunheimr." Loki corrected.

"Yes, that. Was that true?"

"Of course it was. Thor is his father's son." Loki finished patching up his injury and tossed the roll of bandages aside, looking pleased with himself. Clearly this kind of thing didn't exist in Asgard. "Odin believed Thor had learned a sufficient lesson in his time as a mortal. I find it difficult to accept that a mere three Midgardian days was enough to change him from a reckless idiot to a king."

"Did Odin try the same thing with you?"

Loki scoffed. "No, even _he _is not foolish enough to think such a thing would work on me."

Tony raised an eyebrow. If anything, he thought turning Loki into a mortal would be a hilarious and highly effective means of scaring the errant god straight. What made Loki so sure he would be the same after a stint of mortality? Maybe Loki was just way more stubborn than Thor, which was also believable. "So what _did _he do to you?"

Loki glowered at Tony for a moment. "I believe you have overstayed your welcome."

"It's my tower, I'm welcome anywhere I feel like going."

The trickster sneered and looked away. Tony wasn't going to let this go; he was genuinely curious about what had happened to Loki during the past year or so. And what happened to his eyes? Tony just _knew _there was something off about them. The color, maybe. Or the way Loki looked perpetually tired. They still gleamed when the trickster was planning something, or when he was amused or deep in thought, but there was something… else. Could it be that the centuries old Norse god looked older still? He knew it was a horribly stupid idea to pursue a subject Loki clearly didn't want to discuss, but since when did that stop him?

"So really, what happened to you?" After a minute of waiting for a reply that was probably not forthcoming, he decided to try some Natasha tactics. Baiting someone like Loki into talking surely wouldn't be dangerous. "Fine, if you're not going to talk… I just wanted to know what made you change so much."

Loki whipped his head around and snarled, looking beside himself. "I have _not _changed! Odin can do nothing to alter who I am, Stark. _Nothing._"

"Fine, sorry! Didn't mean to offend you or anything, I was just wondering…"

Loki looked away again, simmering. It seemed like he had regained some of his strength if he had the energy to stay angry like this. "If you _must _know, I was banished to Jontunheimr for a short while. I believe Odin was attempting to show me that my life in Asgard was some sort of blessing, but I was too busy keeping myself alive to give a damn about his supposed generosity."

"Right, so… that was it? He just had you take a camping trip off in frozen giant land?"

"_No._" Loki hissed, glaring at Tony. Apparently Loki wasn't too keen on continuing.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, I'll just ask Thor."

"No need." Loki gave him a reproachful look, but sighed and continued. "After Odin saw his first punishment wasn't working, he had me bound beneath a serpent and…" He paused and gestured to his face casually. "Well, venom like that takes a long time to fade."

Tony stared. If he understood correctly what Loki was implying, that was… well, it was horrible. Even for Loki it seemed like an exceedingly grisly punishment. "How can you still _see?_"

"We're not like you mortals, Stark. We heal very quickly."

"Yeah, but… that's just ridiculous! I mean, you probably deserved it," he earned a scowl from the trickster, "But that's inhumane."

"Yes, of course it is. We're _not _human."

In light of what Loki had mentioned about Thor's penance for virtually the same crime, Tony was beginning to believe that Odin was incredibly biased. The trickster continued. "After that I was forced to be a servant to those I would have tentatively called 'companions' in days gone by. They are nothing short of intolerable. Of course that didn't last very long, since I was dragged here in what Odin must have thought to be an excellent opportunity to torment me."

"Why does Odin keep changing his mind? Seems like he can't really decide what to do with you."

"Oh he has no problem making up his mind," Loki said, twiddling his thumbs, "But he knows when his sentences aren't working. He will change them every so often until he finds one that does."

"So that's why Thor's punishment was so short?"

"Yes. Odin believed him to have reformed his ways."

Tony gave the trickster a doubtful look. "Well that hardly seems fair to you."

Loki laughed, nearly making Tony jump from his seat. Loki's mirth was downright startling. "Very good Stark, welcome to my world. It has seldom been fair or kind, and it is unlikely to improve any time soon."

"I still think you just need friends. I'll bet that would fix all your issues."

Loki leaned forward and grinned. "Are you offering, Tony Stark?"

Tony shook his head hastily and leaned away, causing Loki to snicker at him. "No, definitely not. I don't want to turn into your minion or something."

Loki gave him a mock-disappointed look. "Pity, you would have made a good ally."

"No, an ally isn't the same thing as a friend."

Loki looked at him sideways. "What is the difference to you?"

Tony contemplated this for a moment. "Allies fight for a cause, friends fight for each other. Allies aren't really obligated to care for each other either, while that's basically the definition of friendship. You can be an ally without being a friend, but there's no such thing as being a friend and not being an ally. Friends have your back and all that inspirational mushy crap." He shrugged. "Loyal friends are difficult to come by."

"I take it you Avengers are allies then."

"What makes you say that?"

"Most of you simply fight on the same side. I wouldn't call you 'friends' in the sense of the word you defined."

Tony felt slightly uncomfortable that Loki could pinpoint their dysfunction, but it was true. He would consider Bruce a good friend, but the rest of them weren't nearly as close as Banner was. Sure, they could work together relatively well now, but that didn't mean they were all buddies. They shared a bond of allegiance that nothing could break, but their dispositions were generally incompatible. All Tony could really do was shrug and nod.

"I hate to interrupt, sir," Jarvis chimed in, providing a welcome distraction, "Director Fury respectfully requests that you 'hurry up and get your ass in your suit' so that you all may depart in a timely manner."

"That's a direct quote I take it?" Tony asked, ignoring Loki's amused grin.

"No sir, I paraphrased to eliminate the more colorful expletives."

"Thanks Jarvis." He stood and put the chair back where it had been. Loki simply watched him from the edge of his bed. "And you…" He turned to face the trickster before leaving. "Thank you."

Loki blinked, but looked perfectly neutral otherwise. "For what?"

"For saving our sorry asses. We'd have been in a whole bunch of trouble if you hadn't gotten us out of there." Tony smiled, though he looked (and felt) uncertain. "Guess I'll leave you alone now, the sooner we take care of that Chitauri the sooner you can leave our pathetic, horrible realm. Try not to break anything while I'm gone."

With that, Tony headed out the door and off to his workshop, feeling quite accomplished. At least he'd managed to get Loki to look a bit less miserable. Thor would be happy to hear it.

* * *

Of course, Tony had no idea what he'd _actually _done.

No one had ever thanked Loki for anything. _Ever._ Not even when his magic had saved them countless times in his youth. He was the one to make things right when Sif and the warriors three took on enemies just a bit too powerful to handle, he was the one to protect Thor when Thor's strength was not enough to save himself… And no one had ever thanked him. He didn't expect it, he didn't even _want _it at this point, but it was so unusual and so bewildering that it just might have been nice to hear.

Loki shook his head when he caught himself smiling. These were mortals, they were supposed to be petty and small and beneath him. They shouldn't be so… benevolent. This small token of gratitude made the mortals, or at least this one, seem tolerable. They were supposed to hate him like everyone else did, so why didn't this one? Loki didn't have the answer to that. And when Tony had mentioned the fact that eventually Loki would have to return to Asgard with Thor, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Midgard was feeling less like a prison and more like a haven. And then there was Stark...

Tony Stark was incredibly difficult to hate.

* * *

**Bonding sessions are good for the two of them, me thinks. Next chapter has more adventure and such, I promise to keep you all on your toes. Fury thinks he's got everything under control, but **_**we'll show him!**_

**Until next time,**

**~Nightlance**


	9. Revenge

**You! Readers! I am filled with love and adoration and… I can't even properly express how much you all mean to me. One of the best things I think some of you have said to me is that I've stayed in character, which I strive to continue to the end of this story and to whatever sequels I might decide to write. A lost character is a lost story, my friends. No, we're not near the end of this tale, but I have it **_**all **_**planned out. You shall see.**

**Go, read and be merry.**

* * *

Flying must have been everyone's dream at some point in their lives. There was no greater feeling than soaring on a sunny day, or braving a storm just for the fun of it. Or, perhaps, soaring under the night sky with nothing but the stars and a crescent moon for company. Clouds took on shapes and dimensions never seen from the ground, and the wind could be a friend or a foe on a whim. Weather was the one natural phenomenon that always seemed like it had a mind of its own.

That's what Tony Stark thought, anyway.

Well, not word for word, but the general feeling was still there. He had never been called sentimental or, even worse, poetic, but that didn't mean he couldn't come up with thoughts that invoked emotion. Tony had plenty of feeling, he just didn't care to share his innermost thoughts with the general public. He really did love flying, but he loved it in his own way.

Daydreaming was more fun than paying attention. He was currently circling above the old 'abandoned' warehouse S.H.I.E.L.D. had set up camp in, looking for signs of trouble. The team had been working for the better part of the last hour evacuating the place, and now that they were sure all of the agents and scientists were out of the way, they were searching for their escaped alien. They were also trying to smuggle their equipment out of the place before the public caught sight of it, just to be safe. According to preliminary reports, the explosion had been caused by some of the Hydra weapons S.H.I.E.L.D. had in storage. It was always nice to know that mysterious weapons technology had the capacity to explode in addition to firing energy blasts and whatever else it did.

Tony could see Steve down below talking to a gaggle of eager news reporters. He was probably feeding them whatever nonsense Fury had told him to cover up the explosion that had caught the better part of the city's attention, and they would believe every word of it. Maybe it was a gas leak today, or maybe a botched training exercise. Yes, that was more likely and more believable. Why else would there be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents crawling all over the place? It's not as if the general public knew what S.H.I.E.L.D. was anyway, but they would write these things off as 'secret government stuff' without a second thought.

Thor was traipsing through what remained of the warehouse as if this was some grand adventure. Maybe to him it was. What was with Asgardians and going on adventures anyway? They used the word quest _way _too often, and from what little he'd heard Thor speak of his exploits Tony wasn't sure he would like the lifestyle of a gallivanting young Asgardian prince. The ladies? Yes. The alcohol? Absolutely. The frequent confrontations with large, scaly creatures five times his size? No thanks.

Natasha was instructing a group of agents to make a perimeter while Clint perched himself on the highest part of what remained of the warehouse's exterior. Bruce was meandering, but Tony knew he wasn't idle. He was looking for clues just as much as the rest of them. Up above, Tony could just barely see the outline of the 'invisible' Helicarrier hovering out above the harbor, just close enough to keep an eye on things. Fury was probably conferring with Maria Hill up there. Fancy-ass boss agents…

So Tony circled. And circled some more. This was going to get boring fast. It didn't help that the team was connected by communicators.

"There is no sign of the enemy over here." Thor said in a commanding tone. This was the fifth time in the past few minutes he'd given them a status update, and _of course_ he hadn't found anything useful yet. Everyone else thought he was being annoying. Tony thought it was entertaining.

"We only need to know if you _do _find something, Thor. This isn't Twitter." Clint muttered, looking down at the busy Asgardian. At least Thor looked completely focused on the task at hand, which was more than could be said for the rest of them.

"I am only attempting to keep you all aware of the state of things down here. What is this _Twitter_ you speak of?" Thor asked quizzically.

"Nothing you need to know about." Clint said hastily. Tony could only imagine Thor on Twitter. He could also imagine Thor making Mjolnir an account on Twitter, and the two of them tweeting back and forth. That would just be weird.

"The perimeter is secure." Natasha's voice said as she dispatched the final agents to complete the border constructed of guards that she'd been orchestrating. There was a small crowd of citizens gathering behind the various news vans and camera crews, craning their heads to see. The Avengers hadn't exactly been dormant all this time; the members of the team could be seen on the news every now and then, helping out where they could, but they hadn't been reunited until now. It was like candy to the public's insatiable craving for gossip.

"Will you hurry up and get those damn cameras away Captain?" Fury said, unnecessarily loud.

"I'm trying Director," Steve muttered in hushed tones, "They're not going anywhere. It's bad enough they have a mysterious 'training incident' to cover, they haven't seen us together since the attack."

Tony snorted. "Good idea Fury. Nothing will get the press more suspicious than a bunch of super heroes hanging out."

"Keep a lid on it Stark." Fury snapped, "They're just curious. They'll go away when nothing exciting happens."

"I hope you're right," Clint said, and Tony saw him face the crowd to observe, "Because from here it looks like they're attracting more attention."

Tony broke his monotonous circling to get a better look at the crowd. As it turns out, getting close to them prompted quite the reaction. Everyone's attention was suddenly on him, as if he was some sort of eye-magnet. Well, he had to admit, he was insanely attractive with the suit on _and _off.

Someone sighed over the intercom as the crowd started getting excited. "Tony," Steve said, glaring from just below him, "Do you think you could refrain from inciting the masses for _just _today?"

"I wanted to take a closer look, jeeze! It's not my fault they love me. Are you jealous, Stars n' Stripes?" Steve shook his head as someone in the gathering yelled 'we love you Stark' and a couple of people cheered.

"While you're down there grandstanding you might as well be useful." Fury didn't sound quite as annoyed as Steve had been, but then again, Fury knew what to expect from the Stark family. "Go tell those reporters this is nothing more than a training exercise that went wrong and then get the hell out of there. We want them _gone, _not _more_ interested."

"Alright, sure." Tony said, smirking behind his faceplate as he landed beside Steve in front of the reporters. They were shooting off questions immediately.

"Mister Stark, can you describe the situation to us?"

"What is the government doing in an old warehouse?"

"What are you _all_ doing here?"

"Are you still dating Pepper Potts?"

Oh dear Lord. The media was just as ridiculous as ever. And they were _way _too nosey.

Tony sighed and lifted his faceplate, which everyone thought was freaking awesome. In _his_ mind, anyway. The shock of cold air on his skin reminded him just why everyone was wrapped up in thick winter coats. "Alright, listen up! This was just a training exercise, everything's under control now and we're just making sure the place is safe before we leave. That's all."

"But Mister Stark, why does the government have any business conducting training exercises right in the middle of a large population?"

"Good question! The military, as well as various special task forces, feel they need to be prepared for any contingency. Training near a population is about as close as they're going to get to a real crisis situation, short of putting themselves _in _the population. Better they're out here than on Broadway and Seventh Avenue, right?" Tony gave them his for-the-press smile. "In light of last year's attack we have to be ready for anything."

"What's so hazardous about the place now, Mister Stark? Were they testing dangerous weapons down there?"

"As opposed to safe weapons?" Some of the crowd laughed, which was a good sign. Usually they would be uptight about situations like this. Media _always _blew things out of proportion, so it was fantastic that they weren't shouting 'doomsday' in the streets by now. "All I know is that there was an accident, but everyone's alright and we just want to be sure the place is secure before we leave. You know, no fires or gas leaks or anything. They won't be letting civilians near any time soon, so don't get any ideas."

"Mister Stark, this is the first time we've seen this group of so-called 'super heroes' in one place. Is there something you're worried about enough to assemble this team again?"

Tony frowned at this particular reporter. He'd hoped they wouldn't ask that question again. "Yeah well, we heroic types need practice too. It was more of a coincidence really, we all just happened to be in the same place and we were interested in the situation."

"We've been seeing the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. in situations like this. Can you tell us what S.H.I.E.L.D. does?"

"I'm absolutely astounded that you think I'll answer that question." For once none of the people had a follow up question, so Tony considered his task complete. The reporters seemed placated for now, but it didn't look like they would be leaving any time soon.

"That was surprisingly responsible. Nice job, I'm impressed." he heard Natasha say through his earpiece.

Tony grinned. It wasn't often that Natasha gave out compliments. "You're welcome." Steve rolled his eyes at this. It was quite clear that he didn't have anything bad to say, but that wouldn't stop the Captain from being pigheaded as usual. Tony was about to leave, but someone caught his eye.

There was a young man, no more than twenty, near the back of the crowd. He was snapping pictures, but he was facing away from the scene and toward some of the nearby buildings. Most of them were parking garages, and Tony wasn't exactly sure what was so interesting in those. Seriously, a bunch of super heroes versus some old gray concrete? Something was up with that kid.

"Excuse me, I see something not-boring." Tony said to whoever was listening over the communications channel, and he was airborne before Steve could object. Someone was chiding him in his ear, but he ignored the voice. He flew over to the man and alighted next to him, as gracefully as possible with a large metal suit on. Honestly he'd gotten pretty good at being nimble in the suit.

"Hey kid, what're you looking at?"

The stranger looked up at Tony, seeming less surprised than he probably should have been. "Uh, I was just taking some pictures…"

"Yeah, I can see that. What's so interesting over there?"

"Well I thought I saw… something." He pointed in the direction of the nearest parking garage, which looked mostly empty.

Tony blinked at him. Not that the kid could see, his faceplate was back down. It was way too cold out there, and his suit was comfortably heated inside. "Something? What kind of something?"

In response the man tilted the camera so Tony could see. Sure enough, on the screen was the blurry image of a figure that definitely fit the description of 'something.' "Sorry it's so fuzzy, this camera usually gets really good shots. It was just moving fast. Seriously, it was _extremely _fast. If I didn't have that picture I would have sworn I'd imagined it."

It was a good thing this stranger had no idea what he was looking at, but Tony did. The picture didn't have to be clear for him to recognize the image. The Chitauri couldn't really be mistaken for anything else, and he could see the glow of the arc reactor supplying all the energy the alien needed. Tony hated aliens taking his stuff. "How long ago was this? And what's your name?"

"Dunno, maybe five minutes. It's Peter Parker sir."

Tony nodded. "Thanks Pete, you have no _idea_ how helpful this is. But… don't show the press, alright?"

He smirked and gave Tony a nod. "It's just Peter. You can trust me sir, I won't talk to the reporters. I know just how pesky the media can be."

"Good man. See ya Pete." He took off again, feeling quite accomplished that Parker gave him a disgruntled look. Some people just didn't like nicknames.

Tony was well on his way to the building before Fury chimed in. "Where in the _hell _do you think you're going Stark?"

"Got a lead, going to investigate. This Parker kid snapped a picture of something that looks an awful lot like our escaped reanimated invader. Don't worry boss, I'll be back before dinner."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Fury said, sounding irritated as usual.

"_I _just found out. I'm sorry that I can't get reports to you at the speed of _thought, _but you'll be the first to know when I develop any sort of telepathy."

"Very funny Stark. The rest of you should meet him there, if this thing's loose we have to contain it before it gets too far away…"

Fury's voice drifted off to a fuzzy static drone as Tony entered the garage. The plentiful amount of drab concrete in here must have been interfering with his signal. Too bad, he would miss Fury's whining. The rest of the team would be along soon enough, so Tony figured he might as well start searching. Caution be damned.

The lighting was already dim due to overcast skies, but in the depths of the ever-so-foreboding parking garage it was darker still. Tony was beginning to get the feeling that he could be a walking flashlight if he really wanted to, in light of all the dark places he'd recently illuminated. All he could see, however, was a whole bunch of nothing.

"Jarvis, can we detect the energy output of that arc reactor?"

"Yes sir," Jarvis responded, "But the amount of both metal and concrete in this structure limits the capability of your scanners. Might I suggest attempting to detect the creature from the outside of the building?"

"That's no fun." Tony hovered when he'd reached the middle of the level he was on. This was the fifth story from what he could see, and there wasn't much up here. Not even cars. "Jarvis, give me something to work with here."

"Incoming, sir."

"What's that supposed t-"

Tony never got the opportunity to finish his question, as something with a considerable amount of force knocked him out of the air, leaving him flat on the ground. He pushed himself up long enough to see the Chitauri facing him before it fired its weapon again. Tony had just enough time to roll out of the way before the blast left a sizable crater in the concrete where he had been only seconds before. He raised his hands and aimed a repulsor blast at the creature, but it wasn't there anymore. In the time it had taken him to recover, the thing was already gone.

"Damnit! Jarvis, is our connection back yet?"

"No sir, it appears our signal is worse now than it was before. I cannot read anything farther than ten feet away."

Tony sighed and turned, scanning the area in the most rudimentary way possible: with his eyes. He couldn't see anything useful until the Chitauri appeared out of nowhere and fired again, and this time he wasn't quite fast enough. The blast hit him squarely in the chest and sent him slamming into the concrete pillar behind him. Pain blossomed in his chest as he hit the ground, and it felt as if all the air had been forced from his lungs. Tony had no doubt that his previously injured ribs were in worse condition now than they had been.

"Sir, I strongly recommend retreat. This adversary is faster than we may have anticipated." Jarvis said as Tony gasped for breath. The Chitauri was gone again, as if it had never been there at all. It had been a very long time since Tony had dealt with an enemy that had any amount of agility, and he wasn't exactly used to fighting something that could come out of nowhere in seemingly any direction it felt like. Now that he thought about it, the fastest things he'd ever had to fight were Ivan Vanko's drones, and even _they_ didn't try to dodge his attacks. He certainly didn't recall the Chitauri foot soldiers being this fast, and this one was using different tactics than he remembered.

"Remind me, Jarvis…" Damn, _talking_ hurt… "Did these aliens use guerrilla warfare last time?" He got to his feet, which made breathing a bit less agonizing. On the bright side, his suit was still intact.

"No sir, statistically speaking this behavior seems to be unique to this individual."

"Are you telling me it _learned?_" He leaned against the pillar, making it impossible for the Chitauri to sneak up on him. Where was the rest of the team?

"It is possible that the alien now has access to a greater knowledgebase."

Tony spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and flew out of the way, just as the Chitauri fired at him again. He aimed another repulsor blast at the thing, but it was gone too fast. "What do you _mean_ Jarvis? It's been dead, it can't have learned anything."

"Sir, you downloaded my program into that armor. While my program has ceased to function as a control, the Chitauri still has access to my database."

"Well… fuck." That really didn't sound good. They hadn't just brought this thing to life, they'd created a _cyborg_. An _alien_ cyborg_._ And it just so happened that this Chitauri hated the Avengers very, _very _much. _And_ it had a weapon, which it was extremely adept at using. The whole situation sounded like something out of a horrible sci-fi flick. "That explains the new tactics, but why is it so fast?" He ducked another incoming attack and flew toward the outside of the building.

"It is a viable guess that, given access to my not-inconsiderable computational power, the Chitauri can execute both decisions and movements with heightened reflexes."

"Why did I give you such a huge ego?" Tony paused in his flight to look behind him. Sure enough, the Chitauri was nowhere to be seen.

"I believe you were attempting to give me a personality closely resembling yours."

"Haha. Funny."

As much as Tony wanted to go back for the others (so they wouldn't feel left out, _obviously_) he didn't want to leave the Chitauri here. It could decide to just run off and cause havoc elsewhere. The sound of static again was a good indication that he'd have contact with the others if he moved closer to the open air.

"Can you all hear me?" More static. Tony flew a bit closer to the building's exterior, and the fuzzy noise resolved itself into a broken, muffled voice.

"Stark? …that y…? Did you fi… nything?" The voice wasn't distinct enough to be able to tell who was speaking, so he'd just have to get closer. The street below was in view now, and he could see the rest of the team walking _casually_ toward the building he was currently in.

"Yeah, it's me. You're taking your sweet time, I don't appreciate it." His aching chest didn't appreciate it either. Tony would _never _taking breathing for granted again.

"Well if you hadn't gone off on your own we would be with you..." Definitely Bruce. That was about as close as he would ever come to telling anyone off.

"It found _me_, but it might be gone by now." Now that he mentioned it, the Chitauri hadn't attacked since he got this close to the outside. It could be _anywhere._ "I think Jarvis is on to something about this alien. Would you all hurry up? We need to talk. Fifth floor, let's go."

"We're on our way," said Steve. The knowledge that the Chitauri might still be there was enough to get them moving faster.

"Well, looks like we've got some hunting to do." Fury said. As convenient as it would be for the Chitauri to stick around, Tony had a feeling that it had already moved on. It was too clever to stay in harm's way. Against one person it stood a chance, but not against the whole team.

One way or the other, Tony was getting his arc reactor back. How he would manage that was still a mystery.

* * *

"Do you know how _rude _that is?" Pepper scowled, pointing a fork in Loki's direction. He gave her a cheerful smile.

"No, I don't. Enlighten me."

"You're sitting on the kitchen counter! How do you expect me to cook when you're in my way?"

Loki tilted his head and looked at her. He wasn't going to move, oh no… her frustration was highly amusing. Pepper pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, looking temperamental. "Move. Now."

"I don't think I will. What's this?" He picked up an imperfectly spherical fruit that had a relatively smooth skin, something he hadn't seen up close before.

Pepper sighed and walked over to the large, shiny box she had called a 'refrigerator' and opened it, looking around. "That's an orange."

"Yes, I know what color it is. What _is _it?"

She pulled something out of the fridge, what looked like a mass of red stuff wrapped up in plastic, and gave him a look that screamed judgment. He didn't like it very much. "It's _called _an orange. Get off my counter."

"Oh but I _like _it up here. Do mortals lack creativity to such an extent that they must name things after their color?"

"No, that one just happens to be named by its color. Could you entertain yourself somewhere else?"

"Absolutely not. What are those?" He pointed to a pile of long, green, pod-like things on the counter.

Pepper scowled. "Of all the things you could have asked about…" She sighed. "Those are green beans."

Loki stared at her. "They're green. And they're beans. I _knew _it. What's that in your hand then?"

She tore the plastic layer off the mushy mass of crimson. "It's meat. Don't your people eat meat?"

"We do, but that amorphous _thing_ doesn't look much like what we eat." He paused, smirking at her and lowering his voice. "Do you call it _red _meat?"

"Would you _please _get out of the kitchen?"

"Since you asked so nicely… no." He snickered as she huffed in annoyance. Pepper walked over to the stove, which happened to be directly next to the trickster, and turned it on. She looked absolutely intent on ignoring him. "What are you doing now?"

"I am _trying_ to cook. Do you know what a burger is?"

"A what?" Of course he didn't know what a burger was. With a name like that he could only assume it wasn't palatable.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm warning you, if you don't leave…"

"What will you do, _scold_ me? I'm _terrified._"

She raised the fork and swung it at him, forcing him to duck out of her reach. When she poised herself to strike again he hopped off the counter and exited the kitchen in a few quick strides, leaving her muttering under her breath in solitude. Loki considered his personal mission to irritate Pepper a success, but he had to admit she was bold to attack him with such a feeble utensil. Now what to do? There was always messing with Stark's vast collection of alcohol, perhaps freezing it all solid for a few days, but he had a feeling Pepper would give him trouble if he did. Or she might thank him. Both situations were completely undesirable, so he moved on to his other options.

To say that Stark Tower had one of the most extravagant balconies in the city was a huge understatement. Loki had a few fond memories of this tower from when he had (almost) toppled the realm full of insignificant squabbling mortals. He walked out onto Stark's lavish platform, savoring the bite of the frigid breeze on his skin. It was getting dark now, and the sun was setting in a brilliant display of pink and orange hues in the western sky. Loki wondered vaguely if Stark appreciated this view, or if his tower's splendor was purely a coincidence resulting from Stark's need to feed his ego.

Loki sat down on the edge of the platform and looked up at the sky. It wasn't filled with galaxies as far as he could see, nor was it full of brilliant nebulae or auroras spanning from one horizon to the other. The clouds were clearing and the indigo expanse contained a few glimmering stars, shepherded by a single lonely crescent moon. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but it was pleasing in its own right. Sometimes simplicity could be stunning, if only presented in the right way. This was nothing like Asgard.

The familiar sound of the Iron Man suit brought Loki reluctantly out of his reverie. Stark landed on his platform and waited patiently for the machines contained within to free him of the suit. He elected to stand in one place this time, which was arguably less theatrical than when Loki had last seen him take off his 'armor' up here, but the fewer dramatics the better.

"Where are the others?" Loki asked, making Tony jump and nearly lose his footing as the machines finished their task. He looked much scrawnier without the suit, and it didn't help that he was tensed against the freezing wind. So frail…

"_Why_ do you have to do that to me?" he hissed, crossing his arms over his chest and walking stiffly toward the door to his living room. "I didn't even _see _you there."

Loki stood and followed him, noting his rigid gait and measured breathing. Something was ailing the fragile mortal. No surprise there. "Tell me, what have I done to you recently?"

"Scared the shit outta me, jackass."

"Such a harsh tongue. You're in a terrible mood this evening, Stark." Loki smirked as Tony grumbled under his breath. "Besides, it is not my intent to frighten you."

"Don't care." Tony opened the door and walked inside, some of his tension visibly melting away with the warmth.

"So where are the o-"

"Shut up. I need a drink." Stark made a beeline for his stash of alcoholic beverages, and Loki found himself regretting the decision to spare the drinks from his mischief.

"And you wonder why I despise you and your people…" Tony glanced up at Loki and shrugged before grabbing a bottle of something that looked crystal clear and filling one of his larger glasses with the stuff. "I fail to see how your attachment to spirits prevents you from answering my question, but very well."

"The rest of the gang are on their way up. We've made some progress on that Chitauri, but it kinda got away from us." He took a good long swig of his drink and stared at the trickster, who stared right back. "Why the hell am I talking to you again?"

Loki scowled. Stark's mood seemed to change on an hourly basis, and right now the inventor just seemed frustrated with everything in his path. "Do you expect me to know the answer to that question?"

"Not really." Stark twisted around to put the bottle back where it had been, but he gasped and gritted his teeth as if the motion hadn't agreed with him at all. Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh dear. What have you done now?" He walked around the bar and took the bottle from Stark's grasp, replacing it where it belonged. Tony looked momentarily confused, but shook off his shock almost as quickly as it had settled in.

"Nothing fatal." Stark said, taking another sip of his drink and walking around Loki. The trickster smirked.

"What a shame." Loki wasn't actually disappointed (it was quite the opposite) but the indignant look on Stark's face was worth a little lie.

By now Pepper had poked her head out of the kitchen and, while she gave Stark a perfectly cheerful smile, she made sure to give Loki a particularly bitter glare as well. "I hope the rest of the team is coming, I think I've cooked enough burgers to feed a small nation."

Stark's expression brightened. Apparently these 'burger' things were among his favorites. "Excellent, we can go over the impending alien threat with _good _food." He stopped and turned to Loki. "You would like this food. It's good American style nonsense that'll take years off your life if you eat it too much."

Loki wrinkled his nose. "That is _disgusting._" With a description like that, the food simply _had _to be repugnant. Conveniently, the elevator door slid open and the rest of the Avengers (plus Nick Fury) shuffled out.

Clint looked at Loki and grinned. "Tony, I don't know what you did to get Loki to make that face, but it's awesome."

Thor walked over to the trickster (much to his dismay) and gave him a smile. "You look as if you've smelled a bilgesnipe!"

"Forgive me if I find the idea of mortal cuisine nauseating." Loki sneered, attempting and failing to walk away from Thor. He stepped in the trickster's way before Loki could so much as take a step and, even worse, put a hand on Loki's shoulder. It took a great deal of control to keep himself from attacking Thor with one of his daggers. He wouldn't let this register on his expression though. He wouldn't give in to _them, _he wouldn't show any weakness…

"Now brother, do not be disrespectful to our host."

"I wouldn't dream of it, _not-_brother. Leave me_ alone_." Loki shrugged Thor's hand off and stalked away, only to stand by the window. His steps were as even as he could manage to make them, considering he hadn't yet put the time and energy into healing his leg. They reminded him too much of the people he had once called friends, and he was growing tired of their mocking ways.

He heard Thor sigh behind him. "Loki's mood will improve, given time."

"That's what you thought the last time." Natasha said.

"I hate to ruin the party, but we have a Chitauri to discuss." Fury said, each word measured carefully by the sound of his voice. "Now from what Mister Stark said, we have an entirely different matter on our hands this time. If he was correct, this thing is sneakier and much stronger than the Chitauri we've already dealt with."

"It makes sense." Bruce added. Loki turned so he could see the group out of the corner of his eye. What were they talking about? "We've already seen that the Chitauri has superior speed and, from what Tony said, reflexes." He clasped his hands in his lap, fidgeting under everyone's gaze. "It could be that it has access to the Jarvis database without Jarvis being present, for lack of better words. I'd bet anything that a consciousness would win out over an artificial intelligence if the two came into contact.

Steve looked confused at this. "Why's that? Shouldn't a computer mind be stronger or something?"

"No." Tony said, as if that was perfectly obvious. "It comes down to willpower and conviction. Jarvis has neither. It's _impossible_ for Jarvis to have any sort of determination, so his program could easily be overpowered if it came into contact with a living mind. Which it did."

_Conviction._ All too familiar a phrase.

"So what's it after?" Clint asked, to which everyone wordlessly looked to their neighbor. No one knew.

"Revenge." Everyone looked to Loki, but he was far too busy attempting to shake off memories of his former allies to pay them any mind. He was right though, he knew he was. Absolutely certain.

"We can't be sure of that," Natasha said, easing everyone's surprise, "It could want any number of things…"

Loki turned to face the Avengers fully. "The Chitauri's army was overcome, it has no way back to its people, and the very object it fought for is realms away and completely out of reach. What else could it _possibly_ be after?"

Silence. Silence in which everyone agreed, but didn't dare say it. Finally Fury spoke up. "I hate to admit it, but you have a very good point."

"Is it coming for us, though?" Steve said, eyeing Loki with barely-masked disdain, "Or is it coming for _you_? We're the ones that defeated that army, _you're _the one who led it to its downfall."

"Then I think it's safe to say it will be coming for _all_ of us." Loki clasped his hands together behind his back, observing their expressions carefully. None of them seemed pleased with the situation, nor should they.

"It's only one soldier, surely it can't be that difficult to defeat. Right?" Banner looked uncomfortable. If there was anything he hated more than a fight, it was a fight he had to be a part of.

"Hey, careful," Tony said, gesturing to Rogers with his glass. "One soldier can make a huge difference if you give him enough power. By the way, can we give it a name? Or at least call it a 'he' instead of 'it'?"

"We are _not _personifying the enemy, Stark." Fury half-spoke, half-sighed.

"C'mon, we can't keep calling it the Chitauri. How about something cool sounding? Oh! What about _Nemesis?_" He stopped abruptly as Natasha gave him a glowering look and Steve buried his face in his hands. "Wrong time? Got it, work now, humor later."

Thor was the first to bring attention to the real issue. "We must prepare ourselves, the Chitauri will surely attack when we are least expecting it."

"Yeah," Tony said, regaining his serious composure. "But he… _it, _sorry… it's smart. It's not going to attack us when we're together, I have a feeling it knows when it stands a chance and when it doesn't. It left me alone when I got close enough that you all could see me, it's probably not keen on the idea of taking on the team that busted up its army all at once."

"We'll be prepared for an attack regardless." Fury said. Everyone nodded their assent and Loki turned back to the window. Pepper joined the team with food, which proved to be enough of a distraction to lift everyone's spirits. They were a team, what did they have to fear? They were allies, they would _always_ fight for each other.

Memories of the torment he had been promised should he fail reminded Loki that he had no such luxury. He was stranded on Midgard, and he was very much alone. The one thing he could count on to stand in the Chitauri's way was the one group of individuals that had ever dared to stand against him. The team that had _defeated _him. The enemy of his enemy.

_How desperate am I?_

* * *

**The enemy of his enemy is the forbidden "F" word that Loki doesn't ever want to think about. We'll see. I have **_**plans**_** people! Tell me what you think, because your reviews brighten up my day allthefreakingtime. Much love.**

**Until next time,**

**~Nightlance**


	10. Webbed

**Blah! This one took long enough to write, my goodness… But here it is for you! This chapter probably could have been longer, but I've been very busy and I hate to keep you all waiting. I'll be working on the next chapter with all due haste.**

* * *

For smaller beings, the mortals could consume quite a bit of food. Perhaps as much as Volstagg relative to their size. Loki had no idea _how _they managed this, as their food looked absolutely vile and smelled just as bad, but he supposed if he was going to give them credit for _anything_ it might as well be eating.

"Loki. Try something new for once." Stark said, sipping his third glass of whatever alcoholic substance he was presently fixated on. He pointed to the platter of burgers that was currently dwarfing the coffee table on which it rested.

"As I have no desire to perish today, I think I shall refrain. I'm sure Pepper's poisoned those… _things._" Loki crossed his arms and remained at his position beside the window.

"Pepper's not _that _spiteful, she just doesn't like you because you threw me out of a window." Tony stood and joined Loki, ignoring the trickster's sullen countenance. "She gets really worried over the silliest things. And let me tell you, she gets _very _protective. I remember a time when she was _furious_ at me because I was running around taking unnecessary risks… well, in her mind they were, I was just having fun… and I wasn't telling her anything. She didn't know I was dying of course, and when she found _that _out she was-"

"Stark."

Tony stopped and looked at Loki expectantly. "Hmm?"

"Would you be so kind as to _shut up_ so I don't have to _silence _you _myself_? I'm trying to think."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea such a simple task was so difficult for you. You poor thing…"

Loki managed to give him a particularly vicious glare, but he wasn't in the mood to contend with the man. Tony grinned and continued speaking, which was highly irritating and distracting. "Is there some sort of Norse god contract that forces you to sulk all the time? Because you do, and I don't understand it." He leaned in a bit closer, and Loki could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Have you ever considered a change of attitude?"

"No, I haven't. Do you not have other mortals to bother?"

Stark rolled his eyes and sipped his drink, apparently deciding Loki's question didn't deserve an answer.

This wasn't all fun and games of course. Fury was connected with his agents and the Helicarrier again, and he was chattering away with them in the other corner of the room. So far he had set up a web of agents throughout the city, and he was waiting for word of a sighting. The team wouldn't go out until then. Fury figured they would be better off if they were able to corner the Chitauri as one, instead of having them spread out searching with the agents. With a quinjet hovering over Tony's landing platform they could be mobile in an instant. But, until such a time as they actually knew where their alien was, they were staying put. The Avengers didn't seem to mind; they looked perfectly comfortable taking up Tony's many sofas. He didn't mind either, as he only had them because Pepper insisted on him inviting his 'colleagues' over.

Speaking of Pepper… "Tony? Could I have a word with you?" She had joined them without either of them noticing. For Loki that was quite the feat, but Tony was getting dangerously tipsy and probably wouldn't notice someone if they were standing right in front of him.

"Whatever you say, Miss Potts." He waved at Loki as he walked off with Pepper, receiving a passive stare in return. She led him off into the kitchen, which, although open to the living room, was secluded enough that the others wouldn't hear them.

"Tony, I'm worried."

He went to finish his drink but she snatched the glass from his hand before he could. He sighed, figuring she wasn't going to leave him alone until he made her feel better, so he might as well figure out what she was fretting over. "What's there to worry about? It's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine…"

"Fine? You have to deal with one of those aliens again and you're saying everything's _fine?_ Not to mention the guy who tried to kill you last year, oh, and tried to subjugate _Earth_, is standing right there in our living room!"

Tony pressed a finger to her lips, much to her dislike. "Okay, you worry _way _too much. It's just one enemy Pep, and it has no chance against all of us together."

She swatted his hand away, scowling. "And what about Loki?"

"What about him? He's not going to do anything bad, trust me."

"First off, you're drunk. How am I supposed to take you seriously when you're saying things like that?"

Tony scoffed at her. "I am _not _drunk. And I feel like the guy's changed Pep, he's not the same raving lunatic that he used to be. Seriously, trust me."

Pepper pursed her lips, but before she could retort Fury was yelling at the team. "Get on the jet people, we've got a sighting at Central Park. The area is being evacuated as we speak but we've got to hurry it up if we're going to catch this thing."

"Sorry, gotta go. We'll talk about this after we kick some alien butt." Tony gave her one of his more genuine smiles.

"That's what I'm worried about. Promise you'll be safe."

"Everything's going to be fine, I swear. Scout's honor and all that." Pepper nodded and returned his smile, though she still looked as if the worry was nagging her somewhere in the back of her mind. Tony blew her a kiss and turned to join the others, only to be confronted by Fury standing right in his personal space. Loki was peering at him from over Fury's shoulder, looking inquisitive. Had he been listening to their conversation?

"Stark! We don't have all night, get in your damn suit!"

"Calm down Boss, I'm going. Loki, stay out of trouble while we're out, don't make me get a babysitter f-"

"False." Fury said, making them both turn to look at him. He smiled, appearing way too satisfied with himself. "Loki's coming with us this time. Specifically, he'll be with _you _Stark. I don't want to have to watch you myself, so I'll have Loki do it."

They both uttered a simultaneous "what?" that might have been hilarious in any other situation. Tony looked at Loki before continuing. "You're worried about _me? _Not _him?_"

"Be glad I'm not forcing you to stay here. You're probably intoxicated, in which case you'll be making stupid-ass decisions and putting people at risk. Someone's gotta keep you in line, and I need everyone else's hands free. Get in the suit."

"Oh come _on _Fury! That's practically all the time, I can't _believe _you don't trust me." Tony was probably drunk, yes, but not nearly influenced enough to find this anything but insulting. He was perfectly under control, and the alcohol had the pleasant side effect of relieving some of the pain in his chest and made it easier to breathe. This wasn't the kind of thing Advil could help. Besides, he couldn't complain about his injuries because Bruce would get panicky and order about ten x-rays and have him under house arrest in the blink of an eye.

Fury walked away without another word, leaving Tony and Loki facing each other in displeased silence.

"Alright." Tony said, walking out toward the door to the balcony, leaving Loki to follow him. "Don't be annoying and this can't get any more unpleasant than it already is."

"Unpleasant? Stark, this is quite amusing. I confess I'm rather enjoying myself."

One look at Loki's expression told Tony that he was telling the truth. Obnoxious bastard. "That counts as being annoying."

Loki snickered, which was irritating to the highest degree.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Quinjets were way too small to accommodate such a team. It's not as if they didn't have enough room, because physical space was plentiful. However, the personalities of the Avengers were never meant to be in the same room. Or vehicle.

Fury was pacing back and forth, rattling off his plan of attack as if he actually expected the team to follow along. "We'll drop you inside the perimeter and have you spread out from there. If you spot this thing, _don't _go after it on your own. That means you, Stark."

Clint scowled. "When you say 'drop' us, you don't mean you're going to shove us out of the jet from forty feet in the air, right?"

"What are you worried about? I thought hawks could fly." Loki said, earning an exasperated sigh from at least three other people.

"He's not an actual bird, I hope you know that." Natasha growled.

"Here's an idea Fury, you could just let us do our jobs and stay out of our way. That usually works." Tony said, glaring at Fury even though the director wouldn't be able to see his expression through the suit's faceplate.

"That would be nice, but I don't think I can trust you to act like anything but children. Especially you."

"Your confidence is inspiring." Tony crossed his arms and turned away.

Fury didn't bother to respond, but it was clear that he wasn't pleased. The director's high standards had been violated on one too many occasion, and in all honesty he had every right to keep the team on a short leash. The rest of the (extremely short) trip to the park was silent, aside from the occasional tap of Steve's foot and Bruce's uncertain fidgeting. They landed on a clear patch of land in the middle of Central Park amidst barren trees and dormant lamps, and were in fact _not _thrown out of the Quinjet.

The team filed out of the jet and stooped out of the way as their transportation departed, leaving them connected with Fury only via their communications devices. Loki was denied the privilege of listening in, much to his disappointment…

Not.

Steve took charge as usual. It wasn't as if the rest of the team was vying for control; they would rather follow his lead and maintain some sense of structure than take charge themselves, assuming the job would get done either way. The Captain was undeniably good at coming up with strategy.

"I'll take the northernmost section of the park. Natasha and Clint will split up on the east side, Thor and Bruce should do the same to the west. Stark, you and Loki can head south. Call in immediately if you see anything, and don't let this Chitauri escape. Go after it if you have to."

"Hang on a sec," Tony interjected before the others could turn away, which earned him a few agitated looks. It was clear no one was keen on remaining in these sub-freezing temperatures longer than they had to. "Didn't the big bad Boss just say we were supposed to work together on this? I remember him saying something about not going after the Chitauri on our own, Steve."

"He did say that, but I don't like it. Didn't we all agree that we're not working for Fury?"

The rest of the team nodded. Apparently Tony had missed the part where they were going to completely ignore Fury. Usually he would be agreeable to this, but in light of their new enemy's tricky tactics this didn't seem like the best plan even when he _wasn't_ completely sober. However, there was very little he could do to change Steve's mind. Oh well. Since when was caution something he ever aspired to anyway?

"Fine." He said, turning to the south and motioning for Loki to follow. If Steve had to learn a lesson, let him learn the hard way.

The group departed without another word, and soon enough they had lost sight of each other. The park's power had been cut to deter any would-be visitors, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents were keeping people out with excuses about park maintenance. It wasn't dark at all, what with the light emanating from their city surroundings, but the park itself was eerily calm. Fury had warned the team to keep out of sight of the general public in light of the earlier events of the day; nothing was more suspicious than a group of heroes searching an otherwise unremarkable location.

"Jarvis, scan the area. Tell me if you find anything."

"Certainly sir."

Loki followed in silence, completely captivated by the contrast between the barren trees and the city buildings beyond. These two environments did not belong to each other, and yet the cold, geometric structures blended seamlessly into the little expanse of sparse woodland so well that it only seemed right that they should exist side by side. It was delightfully vexing. The park was a forest within another forest, the only difference being that the trees outside were man's mockery of the trees within.

"Doesn't the cold bother you?" Stark said, forcing Loki's attention back to the mortal walking a few feet away. Even in the suit Tony's movements seemed stiffer than usual, and Loki had to wonder what exactly was bothering him. Perhaps it was something that had happened in the explosion. He _looked _unharmed, but Loki of all people knew looks could be deceiving.

"Not in the slightest. The air is relatively mild here, it's hardly as cold as Jotunheimr."

"Mild? It's well below freezing."

Loki looked at him. "Your point?"

"Nothing, I just didn't know you were immune to cold as a… whatever you are. What is it again? Snowman?"

"Jotun." Loki corrected, his voice becoming a touch more bitter.

Tony continued walking without offering a response, so Loki had to assume he didn't have anything else to say. Such times were undoubtedly rare. He wasn't keen on talking about his heritage, least of all with Tony Stark. He'd already shared far too much with this mortal.

Tony was listening to the usual chatter through the intercom, but so far neither Jarvis nor the rest of the team had any news of the Chitauri. It seemed as if there was nothing remarkable here at all. Thor was convinced that Earth had stolen its trees from a place called Alfheimr, and Clint was complaining about how cold it was. It seemed like the chances of their alien still being here were slim to none when Steve finally chimed in.

"I think I just saw it!" he said, making Tony stop in his tracks and turn around. Loki nearly walked straight into him.

"You _think?_ How could you not be able to tell for certain? It's not like this thing looks like the rest of us humans, and the park's been cleared. If you saw _anything, _it's probably our guy."

"Keep it calm, Stark. Everyone start heading back, it was by the lake."

"You're not planning on going after it first, are you?"

Tony sighed when he received no response. He didn't really need a reply to know the answer, but something about it didn't sit right with him. Perhaps it was Steve's overly cocky attitude, or perhaps it was because Steve wouldn't bother to listen to him even if he _wanted _to warn the soldier of the Chitauri's unusually cunning nature. Steve was a bit too confident for his own good.

"Let's go crazy guy, Rogers spotted the Chitauri." Tony started walking with renewed purpose toward the lake, cursing Steve for being so headstrong.

"Really? _Crazy guy?_ That's the best you could come up with?" Loki asked dryly, matching Tony's hasty strides. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I recall you having considerably more creative insults at your disposal."

"Are you _actually _critiquing me right now? That's just ridiculous."

Before Loki could retort the sound of weapon fire snapped them to attention. It wasn't the familiar sound of gunfire, but the harsh _'crack'_ of the Chitauri's energy rifle. Tony was in the air immediately. He didn't care about not being seen at this point, discretion no longer mattered if his team was in danger. His loyal, friendly team that he cared _so much_ about…

"Try to keep up." He called down to Loki, who was already running in the direction of the sound. Well, at least Loki was no coward. With a burst of propulsion Tony was flying toward the lake in the middle of the park, searching his scanners for any sign of the alien. He saw that Thor had the same idea; the Thunderer was flying over the trees just ahead of him. Tony found himself wondering just how something as not-aerodynamic as a hammer could act the same way as a helicopter rotor to achieve flight, but that was a question for another time.

He reached the lake and spotted Steve immediately, and by the looks of it something was definitely wrong here. The captain was on the ground, his shield lying a few feet away and his gun in hand. But he wasn't moving. Not cool. Tony landed beside him and checked the area for threats before kneeling in front of Steve. The left shoulder of his uniform was torn to shreds, and the skin underneath looked like it had been badly burned.

"Hey, loser, you alright?" Tony said, only a touch of worry coloring his voice. He hated Steve's general better-than-you attitude, but he didn't wish the captain any harm. The fact that something _could_ harm him was surprising in itself.

Luckily he groaned and looked up at Tony, which Tony took for a good sign. At least he was alive. "What the hell happened?" He dropped his gun and reached up to rub his head, wincing as he did so.

"I was hoping you could tell me that. By the way, isn't that kind of language sort of harsh for an old guy like you?" Tony offered his hand, which Steve reluctantly accepted. They stood together and looked up as Thor joined them, followed shortly by Clint. "Has anyone else seen the Chitauri? It has to be around here somewhere."

They both shook their heads. Bruce emerged from the trees and went after Steve straight away, his doctoring instincts kicking in. Fury's quinjet swooped in from above, and the director's voice crackled to life in their ears.

"I'm sorry, was something confusing about what I said? Next time I'll be much clearer. You are _not _to confront this thing on your own, Rogers!"

Steve scowled up at the sky, but had nothing to say in his defense. He knew he'd made the wrong decision, but he wasn't going to admit it to the rest of the team. Loki caught up with them just as the quinjet was landing, wearing a pleased smirk on his face.

"You look terrible Rogers… but I have to say this look is an improvement. You should keep it."

Tony couldn't quite suppress his laughter soon enough. Hearing Loki make fun of Steve was priceless. "I gotta say, Cap, I agree with him. You look rugged."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Stark. You should all be looking for the Chitauri, not standing around."

"He's absolutely right." Fury had joined them from the quinjet, followed by a few of his armed agents. There were agents joining the group from the trees as well, no doubt the ones that had been a part of the perimeter. Tony looked around; he couldn't quite pinpoint the reason, but something seemed off. There was something missing…

"Why didn't it kill you?" He turned on Steve, giving him a glare that was probably too accusatory. Oh well, no one could see his face anyway. "It had you, so why didn't it finish you off?"

"Perhaps the creature did not intend to kill?" Thor said, looking at Steve curiously.

"No, I think it's more than that…" Tony looked around again. There was nothing conspicuous on his scanners, nothing odd about his surroundings… The agents that had joined them from the perimeter were all on high alert, he didn't really expect the Chitauri to attack now anyway.

Wait.

That was it. The agents. _The perimeter_.

"Hey!" he yelled, making Bruce jump nervously and all eyes go to him. "Did anyone ever consider that Steve might have been a _distraction?_" He shoved a finger in the direction of the nearest agent. "You've just given the Chitauri an escape route."

"We heard a commotion, we thought-"

"No! The only reason it wouldn't kill Steve is because it knows we'd be preoccupied with him if he'd been injured. It set a trap and drew us all in." Tony looked to Fury, who crossed his arms and nodded his agreement. The others seemed shocked, but no one was going to argue. Something was still off, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Clint broke the silence with a sharp gasp, which was very unlike him. Everyone's eyes found him as he suddenly started looking around in a panic.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked as Clint stormed past him, his bow already drawn back as if the enemy was near.

Clint turned to the group, his entire body tense.

"Where's Natasha?"

* * *

**Shenanigans. Anyway, I've got a wonderful direction to take this, but you'll have to wait to find out. Next chapter will probably have more talking time with Loki and Tony, because everyone knows they **_**love**_** each other's company.**

**All my love,**

**~Nightlance**


	11. Dawn

**Hello readers, whom I adore! I must apologize for the wait, but you can be certain I'll be working much faster after this chapter.**

**To address a question I neglected to answer, I'll leave the version of Peter Parker to reader's choice. Personally I prefer Andrew Garfield, though Toby Maguire had some very good performances.**

**Anyway, back to the plot! Where's Natasha? I don't know, do you? Let's find out.**

* * *

The rest of the night was spent searching for any sign of Natasha, but by the time the morning sun broke over the eastern horizon, there was nothing to be found. Fury had all of his men out looking for signs of her presence, but it was as if she had vanished into thin air without a trace. So had the Chitauri for that matter. Needless to say, everyone was concerned. Clint was hit the hardest out of all of them, and after they'd spent hours searching with no results he finally planted himself on the nearest bench with his head in his hands.

As bad as it was that they'd found absolutely nothing by the way of evidence, it was even worse that no one really knew how to comfort Clint. His carefully guarded feelings for his fellow agent were no secret, but seldom did anyone talk about the two of them. They were trained assassins, hardened by years of experience in the field, but that didn't mean neither of them had emotions. They were only human, and they were very much attached to each other no matter how much they tried to make their relationship seem 'purely professional.'

Tony kept his distance while the others did the talking. He wasn't good at consoling anyone, and he was certain that he would just make things worse. How could he tell Clint that everything was going to be okay when that might not be true? Anything could have happened to Tasha. He crossed his arms over his chest and shivered, standing a good ten feet away while the others gathered in a somber cluster of support. He had taken his armor off (and praised his own ingenuity in making the armor mobile in the first place) but was now regretting that decision. It was _cold. _He had to figure out a way to make his best suit easier to put on in the field. Perhaps he'd revamp the 'suit'-case idea…

"Poor, pitiful creature." Loki murmured from somewhere behind him, yet again startling Tony. How could he keep forgetting the trickster was there?

"Mocking us isn't really helpful. Do you _try _to make things worse?"

Loki stepped forward to stand next to Tony, his expression nothing less than appalled. "I was being sincere! I _do _pity him, he cared for Romanoff deeply. I can only wonder how his small mortal feelings can cope with such a loss."

"Natasha's not _lost._ Not yet. As far as I'm concerned she could have decided to go out for coffee." Loki raised an eyebrow, not looking amused in the slightest. Tony continued. "How would you know anyway?"

"Barton told me everything." he said, as if such a comment was completely trivial.

"What? When was this? Last time I checked, you two weren't on speaking terms." Tony paused and narrowed his eyes. "Is there something you're not telling me? I thought we agreed not to keep secrets."

Loki stared at him for a moment, then looked back at the gathering as if Stark wasn't making a complete imbecile of himself. Ignoring Tony's antics was no easy task. "Barton disclosed a great deal of information while in my service. He enjoyed speaking of Agent Romanoff."

Tony gave a snort of mock-amusement. "So you think you know about the two of them just because you managed to get Birdman to spill a few details?"

"No. I didn't have to do any prompting to get Barton to talk about his personal life. It was rather annoying actually, once he started it was difficult to get him to stop." Loki sighed, making it sound like this was a normal aggravation in his life. For all Tony knew, it _could _be something the trickster had to deal with every day. Pesky mind-slaves and their chatter... At least Loki didn't have the Chitauri stick-of-doom this time around, so he wouldn't be doing any more forceful recruiting.

Loki looked back at Tony. "Why aren't you with your companions?"

"Uhh, well… I'm not sure that I'm the best person to… give a pep talk. I mean, it's just that… You know, we don't even know what happened and how can I tell Clint we'll find her if I don't _know _that we will? That's not exactly helpful. We should be searching now anyway, not… I don't know, standing around in a big group therapy session." Tony faltered as he ended his sentence, as if even _he_ didn't believe his own words.

Was this truly mortal nature? No wonder this realm was always in turmoil, even their champions couldn't support each other. Well, _some _of them couldn't. Turning his gaze to the others again, Loki could see that no one was doing a very good job at raising Barton's spirits. He had every right to be saddened, but the rest of the team could have been doing a whole lot better.

"Who ever said you had to tell him the truth?" Loki asked, walking past Stark before he could object.

Tony knew, of all the people gathered, Loki was the last person Clint wanted to talk to. So what was Loki _thinking?_ He spent a moment wondering if the trickster was actually insane enough to put himself in Clint's emotional (and physical) line of fire, then hurried to catch up before the reindeer got himself killed.

Loki didn't have to do much to gain Clint's attention; the archer raised his eyes as soon as he neared and scowled quite angrily.

"You… this is all your fault! We wouldn't have to deal with this if it wasn't for you!" Clint stood and drew his bow, reaching instinctively for an arrow. But before he could do anything else, Loki held his hands up and bowed his head. Puzzled, Clint paused in his tirade long enough to allow the trickster to speak.

"Agent Barton, I… apologize for what has happened here. Know that I will do all I can to aid you in finding Agent Romanoff."

Tony caught up with Loki just as everyone was staring at him. Thor was smiling like an overgrown child.

"Hang on, what did you just say?" Clint asked, lowering his weapon.

Loki's expression didn't waver from his carefully measured neutrality. He let his hands fall and looked at Clint. "I'm sorry, and I want to help. Is that clear enough?" His last words were somewhat biting, but he seemed to realize this and quickly added, "Sincerely, I do."

Clint looked as if he wasn't sure what to do, but for lack of a better option he nodded. No one else said anything, but this was enough to get Barton on his feet and heading toward the quinjet. "We'd better start looking then."

The rest of the team followed with Fury right on their tails, giving Loki a suspicious glance before disappearing into the jet's interior. Stark gave Loki a particularly curious look.

"What's that all about? Suddenly had a change of heart?" he asked, smirking slightly as he tried not to shiver against a gust of wind.

"Not at all." Loki murmured in response, starting after the others. Tony stepped in his way (which was irritating and _rude_) and gave him a skeptical gaze.

"Why help us?"

"I'm not doing _anything _for you. I'm doing this for me." With that, Loki sidestepped the momentarily perplexed engineer and joined the others on the quinjet. "Coming, Stark?"

Tony frowned and hurried to catch up. The trickster was being… tricky. No surprise there, but Tony was determined to get to the bottom of this very sudden generosity.

* * *

It was as if someone had flipped a switch. The Avengers, gathered yet again in Tony Stark's living room, were no longer a bickering jumble of misfits. The realization that they might actually be in serious trouble dawned on them as soon as Natasha had gone missing, and now they were working as a team. A perfect team, one that ran like a well-oiled machine. Even Stark was keeping his deprecating humor in check.

_So it takes a threat this serious to get them to work together? _Loki found this highly interesting, to say the least. He was beginning to understand how they had suddenly managed to unify themselves the last time they met. Could it have been Agent Coulson's death that pushed this team beyond their selfish natures and brought their world from the brink of defeat? He suppressed a scowl as he observed them speaking urgently to each other, drawing up maps and plans to find their missing ally while Fury coordinated a more widespread network of agents within the city. If that was true, if he, Loki, had been the cause of their unification…

That meant he could have won. There was a glimmer of hope for him and his army, but he himself had given the heroes the purpose they needed to rally themselves against insurmountable odds. Loki didn't want it to be true, but the more he thought about it the more he realized just how much of a mistake he'd made. If he hadn't killed Coulson, where would he be now? Probably better off. Certainly not here.

Or perhaps he was being absurdly optimistic. Perhaps the Avengers would have won the battle no matter what, as he had often thought during the little time he had to contemplate his fate after returning to Asgard. Loki had been so sure of himself, so sure of his army… And yet the mortals had ultimately won. He felt as if no matter what he did, something _always _went wrong. Why? _Why _had he failed this time? Loki's message wasn't altogether unreasonable, though the mortals seemed highly resistant to his logic. He had studied their history and it was clear that they would follow anyone with power, so why hadn't they followed him? They craved to be led, which, in his mind, was tantamount to subjugation. So what went so horribly wrong?

It was really no use figuring out now. All that mattered was that he had failed, despite his greatest efforts. Defeat was no less than maddening, but having to work with these mortals was worse. Had he truly forgotten that he was defeated at their hands? And now he, Loki, was their _ally?_ Then again, he still had to worry about the Chitauri. The Avengers were a convenient shield as long as their focus wasn't on him. The Other promised retribution, and he still had to answer for this latest failure of his.

"…_If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice, where he cannot find you…"_

Loki had no choice. He _had _to work with the mortals. The Avengers. To have no other option, to be backed into a corner like this…

"…_You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain."_

It made him feel so very angry. An all too familiar fury threatened to blind him if he couldn't muster the will to stay calm, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to be calm anymore. He could feel the rage burn like fire through his veins, and the prickle of magic just waiting to be released at his fingertips. It felt like every time he'd stood in Thor's shadow, every time his not-father had turned a blind eye to Loki in favor of his perfect son, _every time _he was ignored while others stood in the light…

"Are you still with us, Loki?"

His attention snapped back to the group, his anger not diminished in the slightest. "What?"

They were looking at him as if they were worried. As they should be. Rogers spoke again. "We asked you if you know where the Chitauri might hide. If Natasha's disappearance had anything to do with our alien, we're likely to find them in the same place."

Loki stared. Comprehension had managed to escape him. "Where the Chitauri would hide?"

Banner nodded vigorously, while the rest of them continued looking on in mixed states of solemnity.

"I know not. If you will excuse me, I will be… elsewhere." He turned on his heels and headed for the stairs before any of them could speak. They could make rescue plans on their own, they didn't need him. The more logical side of his mind was telling him it wasn't in his best interest to take his anger out on them anyway. That might end badly, what with Heimdall watching and reporting to Odin… As satisfying as it would be to simply lose control, he wasn't so foolish as to forget the consequences he would face if he did. Loki Laufeyson, the _king_, did _not _lose control anyway.

Loki wasn't sure where he was going, but apparently his feet did. They made their own path, and before he knew it he was standing at the door of his own room. Perhaps he would finally have some solitude here. He didn't bother removing his boots before perching on the edge of his bed and staring out the window. The sun was still only rising, but it made the world look far warmer than it was. The golden sky could be considered pleasing, maybe even beautiful, but Loki was too preoccupied to recognize it.

Loki was also unaware of soft footsteps on the carpet behind him until Tony was practically standing in front of him. Stark had dragged a chair around and was presently sitting down, intrusively close.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Loki asked, feeling more spiteful if possible.

"Yeah. I'm usually supposed to be working, but I almost always have better things to do. Right now I'd rather be asking you questions."

"Now is not the best time. Come back later."

Despite the fact that Loki's request had been nothing short of a command, Stark stayed put. Clearly he wasn't going anywhere.

Loki sighed. "Very well, if you're going to be _this _stubborn… Why so curious all of a sudden?"

Tony blinked and fidgeted in his seat. "I… wasn't expecting you to ask. Damnit Loki…"

"Oh. Thor put you up to this. Again." Not surprising in the slightest.

Stark rubbed the back of his neck and looked around, clearly uncomfortable. "Uhh… yes. He thought you looked upset. I mean, you kinda did, you were glaring at the coffee table like you wanted to murder it."

"Very observant of you." Loki wasn't at all surprised that Thor was worried. How _brotherly _of him. Amusingly, the warrior wasn't brave enough to come up here and talk to Loki himself. He was sending Stark in his stead.

"I still want to know why you're all interested in helping Clint now." Tony leaned in, as if looking for Loki's reaction. He'd have to be disappointed, because Loki was determined to keep his emotions from showing.

"Do you not understand? The Chitauri are my enemies now, and having you and your team between them and myself is extremely convenient."

Tony looked taken aback. Loki had even surprised himself; he wasn't usually so honest with someone he could barely trust. Actually, he wasn't usually honest with anyone.

"Right, so… you're using us. Got it." Stark looked away in silence, clearly not intending to ask any more.

After a minute of silence, Loki spoke. "Do you not care? Does this not _bother _you?"

"I think, if I was in your position and I had absolutely no friends to count on, I'd do the same thing. So no, it doesn't bother me. You said you're willing to help us, so I'll hold you to it. Hell, I'm impressed that you got Clint to stop moping."

"Stark…?"

"Hmm?"

Loki laced his fingers together and looked at the inventor. "Why didn't it work?"

"Why didn't _what _work?"

"Why could I not defeat you? I had all that I needed, and an army that shouldn't have been stopped. _Why _didn't it work?"

Tony cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "As a general rule, the bad guy doesn't win."

Loki hissed through his teeth and stood, walking over to the window. "But how was I so _wrong? _The mortals of Midgard seek leadership, they want to be ruled… They are no better than _sheep_. Why did they not simply accept their fate?"

He saw Tony grin when he glanced over his shoulder. "For starters, it _wasn't_ the entire human race that beat you. It was just us." He stood and joined Loki in front of the window, yet again far too close. "Everything you say about the human race is true, but you're wrong about the kind of men we like to follow. Sheep will only follow a shepherd."

"I sought only to rule them, what more could they ask for?" Loki paced away a few steps, keeping his back to the inventor.

"A shepherd is only there to protect his flock, not impose his will on it. You weren't the shepherd Loki, you were the wolf. The people needed protecting from _you._"

Loki turned and looked at him. For a moment, Stark had displayed utter intellect, and he saw a hint of the inventor's true genius. His words were so clear, and Loki couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't realized this himself. Such a wary people, these Midgardians… No wonder they feared him more than they respected him.

"Besides," Tony said, returning to his previous seat, "No one wants to follow a guy wearing horns on his head."

Well, the more interesting side of Tony Stark had been fun while it lasted. It seemed his renown was well earned, but seldom did anyone see his clever side. Stark would rather put his brain to use coming up with snarky remarks than carry out intellectual conversations.

"Thank you, that is… quite enlightening." Loki looked back to the rising sun, which was now a dazzling white glow above the horizon. The light bathed everything it touched, making the city look surreal. This certainly didn't feel like the same world he had tried to conquer. With this newfound understanding of his defeat, he felt as if some of his anger had ebbed.

"Jarvis, tell me when the boys are done chatting downstairs." Tony said to his general surroundings. Peculiarly, the computer didn't offer a response. After waiting an ample amount of time, they both looked around as if they might find some visual clue as to the source of the abnormality. "Jarvis?"

"That's odd. Your electronic friend is usually so prompt." Loki said, turning to Stark as curiosity got the best of him.

"Technically Jarvis is made up of very complicated source codes, but he _does_ run on electricity, so I suppose you're not wrong." He stood and made his way to the door without offering an explanation.

"Where are you going?" Loki inquired, already on his way to follow.

"My workshop. Try to keep up."

* * *

Tony had never been embarrassed by the state of his workshop. It was a complete mess, but it wasn't as if that mattered. As long as Pepper didn't touch his things Tony knew exactly where everything was, so it really didn't need to be neat. Still, having Loki here felt… weird. The stately manner in which the so-called prince carried himself made Tony feel as if he should have at least cleared the paper and various writing utensils off the floor before bringing him here. Loki was completely out of place in this mess of a room.

"Welcome to where I live most of the time." he muttered, heading straight for his main computer screen and hoping the trickster wasn't judging him. Tony didn't know why it mattered in the first place. It was completely irrational and stupid to care what Loki thought.

"This isn't what I was expecting." Loki said, making Tony sigh as he began searching through strings of code on his screen.

"What were you expecting, fireworks?"

"Fireworks? I'm not sure what you mean… In any case, I thought perhaps your workspace would be more grandiose. This place of yours is surprisingly less excessive than I expected. If anything it seems practical."

Tony looked at Loki, who was inspecting some of his newer designs. A stab of worry reminded him that this was still supposed to be a dangerous individual and he probably shouldn't have brought him here in the first place, but he brushed his mental warning aside. What would Loki do with his designs anyway? The trickster seemed like he didn't need any Stark tech. "Thanks. I think."

With the trickster looking over his shoulder, Tony continued searching his codes. He didn't like that Jarvis was being glitchy, because honestly Jarvis had _never _had problems before now. Well, not counting the time Fury had broken in to tell him about the Avengers initiative.

After pages and pages of code he finally stopped looking. There was a sequence of seven numbers where it shouldn't have been. That was odd, yes, but what was even stranger was that the numbers were periodically changing. Tony stared at it for a moment, but he simply couldn't make sense of it. He'd never seen code like this. Ordinarily he would say these numbers weren't even a legitimate form of code, but somehow they had gotten there, and they were probably the source of Jarvis' malfunctions. When he tried to remove the numbers, however, they simply replaced themselves within seconds of being deleted.

"Well that's not normal." Tony crossed his arms and eyed the code up and down. He hated things he didn't understand.

"Where did it come from?" Loki asked, still observing with keen interest.

"Don't know. Let's find out, shall we?"

Tony pulled up the history of the work he'd done on the Jarvis system, but there was nothing there to explain the superfluous code. He checked his recent downloads, but there was nothing there either. Networks? Nothing out of the ordinary. Links? Besides his various uplinks to satellites there was... something else here. Something Tony didn't recognize as his own. Sure enough, something had gotten into his database and found a way to create a link there.

"There you are. Now, where are you coming from?" he said as he began tracing the anomalous link.

"Do you often speak to your screen like this?" Loki inquired.

"_Yeah_ I do… But usually it talks back." He trailed off as he looked at the results of his analysis. This link, whatever it was, was coming from the subterranean level of Stark Tower. Effectively, there was something wrong in the basement. "That's just… different. Hey, you." He turned to Loki. "Want to come check this out with me? It'll be an adventure, you'll have fun."

Loki grinned. "Stark. I live for adventure."

* * *

**Nothing ever goes wrong in basements. Obviously.**

**I guess you didn't get to find out what happened to poor Natasha… this time. You can expect developments soon.**

**~Nightlance**


	12. Choices

**Look! **_**Look!**_** A chapter!**

**Read and enjoy.**

* * *

He didn't like it. Not one bit. There was something about elevators that Loki absolutely hated, but since Stark had kindly explained that it would take them a very long time to go by foot, and he didn't want to use any more magic, Loki supposed this was the only way. The pair stood on opposite sides of the little transportation box, both looking at the sliding doors in anticipation of their destination. At least the elevators in Stark Tower were fast.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Loki asked as the elevator slowed to a halt.

"As smart and god-like as you are, I doubt even _you _would understand technobabble."

Before the trickster could retort, the doors slid open to reveal a room that could only be described as vast. Oh, and perhaps dark. Not to mention it was just as cold down here as it was outside. No wonder Stark had put on one of his leather jackets… Unlike the rest of this tower, the basement level was not partitioned into smaller rooms, but left open and filled with technology that, until now, Loki had only seen on the Helicarrier. What's more, there were rows upon rows of towering rectangular constructs, all of which were either glowing or blinking a particularly unsettling shade of blue light.

"What is this place?" he asked, watching as Stark walked ahead and disappeared down one of the many alleys between what appeared to be walls made of technology.

"It's a server room. You know, where I keep all the servers." Tony led the way to a clearing in the otherwise crowded room. There was a central workstation here, and as with the rest of the place, many, _many _screens, but nothing unusual. He started working immediately, leaning over the console in the middle of the room and typing fervently. In his haste Loki noticed the inventor wince, yet again reminding him that the mortal wasn't in perfect health.

"What is the purpose of a _server?" _Loki walked around, inspecting the room he couldn't even begin to comprehend.

Tony sighed as he searched through his data again in a vain attempt to locate the source of the problem. "It's… complicated. I'm really not sure how to explain to someone like you…" He paused and looked at Loki. "Jarvis runs on computers, you know that. This is just the physical storage that runs the program. Oh, and thousands of other programs. You know, the kinds that run satellites and spy on S.H.I.E.L.D."

Loki stared at him for a moment. Truly the intricacies of mortal technology escaped him. Evidently Stark could see this, even as the trickster masked his every emotion as well as he possibly could have. "It's like talking to _Steve_… Alright, listen carefully. I have technology all over the world that runs on codes and commands. If these codes aren't built into the technology itself, they have to come from _somewhere." _He made a grand gesture to the rest of the room. "_This_ is that somewhere. At least that's one purpose for these systems, anyway."

Well that made _some _sense, at least. Although Loki could hardly understand the inner workings of Stark's machines, the concepts behind them were clear. After that neither of them spoke for the better part of ten minutes, punctuated occasionally by Stark's frustrated mutterings as he found more of nothing.

"What's wrong?" Loki finally asked as the inventor stood back and glared at his screens.

"Being down here isn't any better than being up there was. I don't _get _it, the signal's _definitely _coming from_ here." _He turned in a circle and looked around, clearly tense. "Jarvis has never had an issue before. No one even has _clearance _to be down here. Something up. Something's… not right." He paused and turned in another circle, clockwise this time. Observing Tony's motions was much like watching a very confused child.

Loki sighed and looked at Stark's screens, which showed nothing but the same anomalous numbers. Not exactly helpful. But Stark was right, this _was _strange if his program wasn't normally tampered with. In a time like this, no less… Jarvis. Why was Jarvis significant, other than the fact that the A.I. ran much of the tower, and the fact that Jarvis had nearly unlimited access to a database harboring many of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets? Alright, admittedly these things _were _important, but if someone wanted to steal Stark's information Loki was sure there had to be an easier, less noticeable way. Unless…

Wasn't it the Jarvis program S.H.I.E.L.D. had tried (and failed) to use in order to control the Chitauri?

"Stark… do you believe in coincidence?" he asked, lowering his voice considerably.

Tony turned and gave him a sidelong glance. "Only when it's convenient. Why, what are you getting at?"

Loki let his eyes sweep the room, not bothering with a response for Stark. The mortal didn't really need one at the moment anyway, there were much more pressing matters to attend to. He had a horrible feeling that they'd just walked into a trap. How_ could_ he have missed it earlier? It seemed so perfectly obvious now that he actually thought about it. But if this was a trap, that meant there would be something waiting for them.

He abruptly turned back to Tony and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, prompting a shocked expression from the mortal. "How many exits does this room have?"

"Calm _down!_ There's the elevator and there's a stairway that leads outside, that's it. If I had a choice the stairs wouldn't be there in the first place, but apparently fire codes are strict when electronics are involved and-"

"Shut _up _Stark. Your speech is downright irksome." Loki released him and turned in the direction they had come from, quite intent on returning to the infernal elevator and, as a mortal might put it, getting the hell out of there. "Come, we should depart."

Stark's words stopped him in his tracks. "You're afraid."

Loki pivoted to face Tony, his lips pressed into a thin line. "You _dare _accuse me of such a-"

"Yes, I do. Deal with it." Stark took a step forward, squaring his shoulders as if such an action made him look any more confident. It really didn't.

"I do not fear such mundane foes, Stark. Know your place."

"_My _place? Please don't tell me you're on that whole power trip again, that was a bunch of shit last time."

Loki took a step in his direction. He'd had enough insolence from these people, and while Stark had managed to quell his fury for a time, Loki could feel the anger prickling at the back of his neck again. "Choose your words wisely, I would hate for you to make any more enemies than necessary."

Tony laughed quite abruptly and shook his head. "I have a ridiculous number of enemies as it is. Look, I'm just trying to make a point here. You already admitted you're using us like a shield, why _else _would you be willing to hide behind us if you weren't afraid?"

"I am _not _afraid." Loki hissed, taking another step forward.

"Just tell the truth for once, you're more scared of this thing than we are."

"This is your _last _warning."

"The first step is admitting you have a problem."

They were mere inches away from each other now, Loki staring down at Tony like the insignificant little man he was. As infuriating as Tony was, however, Loki was finding it difficult to snap at Stark like he would at any other mortal. Perhaps it was because Stark was correct. Loki would never admit it though; his dignity wouldn't permit such a truth to escape his own lips. Kings were not meant to fear their enemies, they were meant to crush their enemies out of existence. That was his ideology, anyway.

Before Loki had the chance to explain this to Stark, however, movement caught his eye. In the moment it took for the threat to register it was already too late. The Chitauri had seemingly come out of nowhere and advanced toward them with dizzying speed.

"Stark!" Loki said, backing away a few steps. Tony whirled around to face the creature, but the Chitauri was already too close to escape. It struck the inventor before he could so much as move, sending him sprawling into one of the towering constructs around them with a sharp _crack._ Stark promptly fell to the floor, gasping wordlessly and struggling to push himself up. The Chitauri focused its attention on Loki now. The trickster was torn between escaping and helping his fallen companion. _Companion? _No, that was definitely the wrong word for Stark.

In Loki's moment of indecision, the Chitauri had aimed its weapon directly at his chest, the spear-like bayonet just touching his armor. At least he had the sense to protect himself adequately, unlike Stark… Why was mortal clothing so flimsy, anyway?

"Loki of Asgard. I would have words with you." it said, its face contorted in what appeared to be a perpetual snarl. Loki certainly hadn't expected this; in his time commanding them he had only ever exchanged limited words with the things, orders and directions they would only respond to with a few words. He didn't really know what kind of intellect they possessed, and he cursed himself for not learning more of them. If the Chitauri were anything like the Other, they could be extremely clever.

"What do you want?" he asked coolly, chancing a look in Tony's direction. The man had managed to sit up and was leaning against the server tower, taking oddly shallow breaths. Whatever had been ailing him before hand, it looked like the Chitauri had made his injuries worse.

"I desire to put right what has gone wrong, Asgardian. You were to lead us into victory. You failed us." As if to emphasize his point, the alien jabbed at Loki with his weapon, not quite hard enough to get through his armor but enough force the trickster back a step.

"Thank you for enlightening me, but I'm afraid I already knew that." Loki said, his tone a bit sharper than he would have liked. Provoking this creature wasn't exactly the best course of action. Not if he wanted to escape with his life, anyway.

The Chitauri remained still for a moment, as if in contemplation. Then it cocked its head to the side and advanced a step, closing the distance between them yet again. "As much as I'd like to kill you and have my revenge, there are more useful things you could be doing. Perhaps you can redeem yourself in _his _eyes."

_His eyes? _That ever mysterious individual Loki had only ever heard of. The Other spoke of this 'him' often enough, and now it seemed the Chitauri knew of 'him' too. Loki had heard whispers of the powerful being pulling the strings, and now more than ever it was vital that he find out who it was that was supposed to be hunting him down. What was this talk of redemption, anyway?

"What do you have in mind?"

The Chitauri grinned (or at least it looked like he did, the alien's expressions were barely readable) and looked back at Stark. "After I have killed the humans that choose to get in my way I intend to finish the task we began. This newfound power," it said, gesturing to the arc reactor glowing in its chest, "Will be useful in reobtaining the tesseract."

"The tesseract is no longer on this realm, you've already failed."

"I know, Asgardian. Newfound knowledge." The Chitauri tapped the arc reactor. Of course, the Jarvis database. These mortals obviously had knowledge of the tesseract's location, which meant the Chitauri did as well.

"Why did you come here then? Surely you know these Midgardians seek to hunt you down."

"It was necessary in order to find the location of those who will be able to aid our cause." It lowered its weapon. "You will help me, or perish with the rest of them. Perhaps you will be spared the worst of _his _punishment if you cooperate."

"How exactly do you plan to obtain the tesseract?" Loki asked, acutely aware that Heimdall and Odin were more than likely watching him as they spoke.

"The humans known as Jane Foster and Erik Selvig once worked on creating a bridge between worlds. Their technology will work with the correct modifications. I knew of their efforts through the knowledge in this device, but their location remained hidden. Until now, that is." It looked around. "These databases held the answers I sought. Once the defenders of this world have fallen, it will be a simple task to retrieve the tesseract and return it to _him._"

Loki's expression never wavered. "The champions of this realm are not so easily defeated. Surely you know that."

"Together, yes. On their own, each of them is weak. Surely _you _know this. The soldier, the monster, and the Asgardian prince are not fast enough to defeat me alone, and the marksman and the assassin do not have the strength. This one, the so-called Iron Man, is the only one who poses any sort of threat on his own. One that will soon be neutralized. If I alone can eliminate them one by one, imagine what the both of us could do."

There was that glimmer of hope again. Fleeting, unlikely, but it was there… Loki had a second chance to do what he had failed to do, to rule this miserable realm and be free of the ever-present threat the Other had promised. He could make up for his failure and use his knowledge of the Avengers against them. He could _destroy _them like he should have done a year ago.

Or… he could stay on the mortals' side and continue to be the hated exile.

The choice should have been so simple, so obvious… And yet he couldn't quite bring himself to the conclusion that an alliance with this Chitauri was better for him. Loki could have everything he wanted. He could have revenge on his brother for the lifetime he'd spent in Thor's shadow, he could show Odin how worthy he truly was for the throne… He could even watch these mortal heroes fall one by one, as they should have done so very long ago.

All it took was conviction.

_Conviction._

Agent Coulson came to mind. The mortal that dared stand against Loki with no significant powers or abilities of his own. Coulson was brave. Coulson had shown him that Midgardians would fight for their freedom, no matter the cost. Coulson had been his greatest mistake. Even as he lay dying, the mortal had no fear.

_No fear._

Agent Barton, with his guarded nature and quiet wit. He had every reason to fear Loki, but he did not. He was resentful, but fear never once crossed his expression. He cared only for the safety of his peers and for his idea of justice to be carried out.

_Justice._

Steve Rogers was nothing if not just. He was moral and downright good in spite of his flaws, and he wouldn't hesitate to defend his allies with his life. Loki never found the captain to be particularly likable, but he was a practiced fighter and never backed down when he knew he was right. He was the leader when his team needed him to be, and his skill with taking command was unmatched.

_Skill._

Romanoff was truly the most skilled of the group. For one with no significant ability beyond that of the mortal scope, she was an extraordinary individual. She rivaled Sif's prowess, and she too was very clever. She had managed to outsmart Loki, for which he admired her in his own way.

_Cleverness._

Banner was truly the thinker of the group. He was measured and rational in all decisions, and his control over his own weakness was a feat Loki couldn't help but admire. While he was capable of such strength and brutality, he knew when it was the right moment to strike and when it was the right moment to wait.

_Strength._

Thor. His not-brother. While Thor had always been a warrior at heart, he had constantly used his power to serve himself and no one else. Until the Avengers. Thor was willing to fight for his mortal companions, even if he had no business in their fight. He would stand by them no matter the circumstances.

Which brought him to Tony Stark.

Stark was an enigma. He was infinitely flawed and acted like a child so often… And yet he had also been the voice of reason on more than one occasion. Try as he might, Loki couldn't really hate the obnoxious inventor if he tried. And he _was _trying.

It took mere moments for these thoughts to cross his mind. As glorious as this opportunity was, he felt compelled to defend his former enemies despite all the trouble they had caused him. He could not simply discount the mortals' strength and bravery, but he couldn't just ignore this chance either. To join those who had defeated him, or to finish what he had started?

This wasn't exactly an easy choice.

"It would be unwise to refuse me, Loki of Asgard." The Chitauri walked back to Tony, who was currently doubled over and coughing. "Either join me or stay out of my way. You should be grateful I am willing to ally myself to someone who has proven to be so weak."

Weak? _Weak?_ How rude. Still, this offer was potentially his freedom. If he remained with the mortals, after the Chitauri had been dealt with, he would have to return to Asgard and endure whatever other punishment Odin could think of, possibly for an eternity. With the Chitauri, he might be able to avoid such a fate.

"Very well," he said, expertly maintaining his neutrality, "Was Natasha's disappearance your doing?"

"Yes, the human's corpse will make for a useful distraction while I find Jane Foster and Erik Selvig."

Loki clenched his jaw as the Chitauri inspected Tony, who had leaned as far back as he could and was staring at the alien. "So Romanoff is dead?" At this Tony's eyes grew wide and he looked at Loki. Of course he couldn't understand what the Chitauri was saying, but Loki's words were clear as day.

"W-what? No, that can't be…" Tony managed to say before gasping and clutching at his chest.

The Chitauri aimed its weapon at Stark and looked back. "Not yet, but she will be. In a matter of human hours this city will have to deal with a few explosives I've left behind, we should have plenty of time to leave without being noticed. Their female will be a tragic victim, and we shall be well on our way to Thanos with the tesseract. If these mortals continue to stand in the way, then we shall eliminate them as planned."

_Thanos? _The name was familiar, but Loki couldn't quite remember why. He walked over to the other two, his hands firmly clasped behind his back. Tony looked up at him, and Loki could see now that the man's lips were stained red with blood. "Loki, I have no idea what he's saying, but… don't take their side again. I swear to you, you'll regret it."

At first he thought Tony's words were a threat, but after considering it he realized Stark wasn't trying to warn him of his downfall. He truly thought Loki would feel remorse over such a betrayal. It would be so simple, so _easy _to turn his back on the mortals…

"What if I say no?" Loki said quietly, looking at the Chitauri. The creature looked back, seeming confused. It was all the distraction he needed.

In one fluid motion, Loki grabbed the Chitauri's weapon and wrenched it out of the creature's grasp. He ducked out of the way as the now enraged Chitauri tried to get its hands on him and put a few feet of distance between them, brandishing the stolen weapon. He'd have to beat this thing if he and Stark had any chance of escaping. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that this was the choice he was making, to side with the mortals, but he'd learn to live with that later.

Now, it was fight or die.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Stark's world…

Tony knew exactly how much pain he could take. He and pain were well acquainted. One might say they were old friends. So he could definitively say that having already cracked ribs completely broken really _sucked. _He didn't really want to think about how much damage this alien had done with just one blow, but he could hardly breathe now. He could taste his own blood. Hell, he felt as if he was drowning in it. Of all the idiotic things he'd done, this would be a stupid way to die.

_So let's not die then._

Yes, not dying was a fantastic plan, but it didn't seem easy. With at least one of his lungs failing him and the Chitauri an imminent threat, Tony was beginning to think luck was their best bet at getting out of this alive. With Jarvis down he couldn't tell the computer to contact the rest of the team, and he had left his phone up there with them. He felt so tired, too. When was the last time he had slept? Too long ago to remember. If he could only close his eyes for a moment…

"_Stark_!" Loki shouted, glaring at him between attacks. Right, no closing his eyes. Not yet, anyway. He'd have to thank Loki for keeping him awake later.

The Chitauri was attempting to get its weapon back, but Loki was keeping it at bay with an impressive display of martial skill. Tony had no idea what kind of crazy world Asgard was, but if Loki didn't count as a 'good' fighter then they must all be insane. Loki used the weapon as an instrument to parry each move the Chitauri made and kept him at bay, despite the fact that the Chitauri could move extremely fast. From what Tony could see, Loki's natural agility made him an equal match.

"Stark, is there any way you could _move _so we can _leave?_" he said, drawing his attention to their situation once more.

"Right." He cringed. Speaking was way too much effort, and it took precious air. He wasn't sure what Loki wanted him to do anyway, and there was still the matter of getting this Chitauri out of Jarvis' system. Either he had to get the Chitauri a few miles away from the building, or… Or he could just reboot the system. The _entire _system. He was somewhat surprised that he hadn't thought of this before. He had to get to the central console though, and Loki was still fighting the Chitauri too close for comfort. The last thing Tony wanted was to get into the middle of their fight.

He felt utterly useless down here on the floor. If only he could help the trickster somehow… The thing _had _to have a weakness of some sort. He coughed to clear his throat and took a shaky breath. "Loki, see if you can remove the arc reactor." Loki nodded as he struck at the Chitauri, forcing it to retreat a few steps. Tony watched as they exchanged strikes, each one narrowly avoiding the other's attack.

As soon as they were close enough together, Loki reached for the arc reactor. But his plan couldn't _really _be expected to go as planned, could it? Of course not. As soon as Loki touched it, the reactor flashed and he retracted his hand as quickly as he could. The Chitauri took its weapon back while the trickster recovered.

"Do you have any other horrible ideas, Stark?" he snapped, managing to dive out of the way just as the creature fired its weapon in his direction.

"That was a _great_ idea, it just didn't work." How was Tony supposed to know the Chitauri was smart enough to protect its source of life, no doubt with electricity? Well when he thought of it _that_ way it _did_ sound obvious. While Loki continued to fend off the enemy (at a serious disadvantage now) Tony pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to the central console. He leaned on the surface and tried to shake the sudden fatigue that was making it extremely difficult to think. His eyelids felt so heavy…

What was he supposed to do again? Reboot the system? Right. Tony could do that in less than a minute, he only hoped that would be enough time for Loki. Just as he began the process to restart the system, he heard a cry of pain from the direction of the fighting.

He turned to see that the Chitauri had managed to run the blade of his weapon through Loki's shoulder and now had him pinned. The trickster was still trying to gain control of the weapon. "Stark, I hate to rush you but we're running out of time."

As if on cue, the room went pitch black as all the electronics were shut off. Apparently this was enough of a surprise to the Chitauri that Loki had a chance to escape, because when the lights returned a few seconds later Loki was standing beside Tony, and their enemy looked highly disoriented.

"Jarvis? You back?" Tony asked as they retreated away from the alien. It looked eager to attack again.

After a moment of silence, the A.I.'s voice came to life. "Yes sir, it appears the connection between your network and the Chitauri has been severed."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief, remembering too late that any dramatic breathing might not be a good idea right now.

Loki glanced down at Tony, seeming mildly exasperated. "While I am absolutely _delighted_ that you have your friend back, I fail to see how that helps us."

"Jarvis," Tony said (or croaked, depending on interpretation) "Tell the rest of the team where we are."

"They have already been informed, sir, and they are on their way."

The Chitauri seemed to understand this perfectly. It gave them one last enraged snarl and ran off into the darkness toward the exterior exit. The two stood in silence, both of them not quite sure if they could let their guard down just yet. Tony looked at Loki and couldn't help but grin.

"Is something funny?" Loki asked, pressing his hand over his left shoulder with a wince.

"We're working together, I think that's hilarious."

The trickster pondered this for a moment, the hint of a smile touching his expression. "We work _well _together." He paused and lowered his voice. "Don't tell Thor, he'll be jealous."

Tony usually would have laughed at such a comment, but he was too damn tired. That, and the room was spinning. He felt as if his legs could barely keep him standing.

"Stark? Are you well?"

He could hear Loki, but the voice sounded so very far away… He closed his eyes for a moment and found that, when he opened them again, he'd somehow fallen back to the floor. Loki was kneeling over him and asking questions he could barely comprehend anymore. The last thing he was aware of was his own heartbeat ringing in his ears.

* * *

_**Where **_**is Natasha!? Who knows? Well, **_**I **_**know, but I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway.**

**As usual, I love you readers to no end.**

**Until next time,**

**~Nightlance**


	13. Dreamscape

**Ahh! This took way too long to post! I'm terribly sorry, my wonderful readers, life got rather busy for me. On the bright side, this chapter was originally turning out to be **_**much **_**longer and it was still in the works, so I cut it in half so you can have this part now. That means the next update should be very soon, since it's almost done already. Yay for updates!**

**Now then, let's see what happened to our favorite duo.**

As far as questionable choices went, Loki's decision to side with the humans was one for the record books. What was he _thinking?_ It had seemed like the _less _horrible choice at the time, but now? Well, he would just have to accept the fact that he'd gone mad and get over it. Loki could only hope that his history of bad luck and defeat didn't follow him to plague the mortals as well. He sighed and looked down at Stark, who was unconscious and struggling to breathe by the looks of it. He supposed he _should _do something about it… After all, somewhere in the back of his mind he was beginning to worry. He'd have to attend to himself as well, his shoulder was aching and his armor was already soaked through with blood. Nothing he couldn't handle though.

Loki knelt down beside Tony, thinking back to when the mortal first showed signs of injury and inwardly cursing him for being so fragile. It must have been the explosion in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. A trail of blood had made its way from the corner of his mouth, which only prompted Loki's thoughts to wander amongst morbid fantasies about utterly destroying the miserable creatures of this realm… _No, _he mustn't think that way. He was supposed to be on their side now, which he was still trying to accept. In reality he was supposed to be working for them since Odin had forced him to accompany Thor to Midgard, but the idea of him aiding the Avengers of his own volition still felt foreign and strange.

He turned his attention back to Stark and placed his hand on Tony's chest. He felt the cold surface of the arc reactor and wondered vaguely how it was keeping Stark alive. Of all the things Clint had told him, he'd never found out about Stark's weakness.

"You know," Loki said, his expression turning to a glare, "I hate you for this. I could have done it, Stark, I could have taken that Chitauri's side and used its strength against your people. But you had to make things _so _difficult. No matter _how _much I would have liked to take revenge, I simply could not. You horrible bastard, you've been too kind."

"Mister Loki, I hate to interrupt this moment," Jarvis chimed in, nearly making Loki jump. He'd forgotten about the computer. "But Mister Stark's health is deteriorating at an alarming rate. You may want to take action."

"Right, yes…" Loki murmured, closing his eyes and concentrating. It had been a long time since he'd used his magic to heal, and even then he rarely used it on anyone other than himself. Yet again he found himself hoping this would work, otherwise he might end up harming Stark further. As much as he would hate to admit it, he didn't actually want that to happen.

_Everything was dark. If Tony had to choose a shade of dark he would say 'pitch black.' He didn't remember how he'd gotten here. There was no sound, not even the echo of his own footsteps registered as he began walking. There was no direction, no sense of place or time, no substance… It didn't even feel like there was air in the great, empty space that was currently surrounding him._

_Tony looked down at his hands. He could see himself perfectly well despite the lack of light in his surroundings. For whatever reason, he was wearing the Iron Man suit. Although the glow of his arc reactor was rather bright, it didn't do much to illuminate the space he was in. The darkness just went on and on and on…_

_Or did it? Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, but he thought he could see a light in the distance. There was really nothing to do but start heading in that direction. As he got closer, he could see that the light was from hundreds, maybe thousands of stars high above him. Not just stars, either… It looked like galaxies and nebulas and colors he didn't even know existed, all standing out against the black void they illuminated. And right in the middle of all the light was Loki._

_He was standing in front of a mirror. He didn't seem to notice Tony approach; he was focused so intently on his own reflection that he didn't bother to look around. But there was something… strange about his appearance. While his reflection looked exactly like the Loki that Tony remembered the day of the battle with the Chitauri, the Loki looking into the mirror looked much different. He seemed younger and was wearing much lighter armor. There was something else, too… It was as if their demeanors didn't quite match up._

_As he approached, Loki spoke. "__How desperate are you that you would call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"_

_Tony recalled the first time he'd said that to Fury. He had been full of spite, as his reflection was now. But the Loki standing before him seemed affected in a different way… He couldn't quite put a finger on how, though. Loki continued to ignore Tony as he spoke again._

"_Freedom is life's great lie." the pair said, mirroring each other as one might expect._

"_Loki?" Tony said, moving closer. He was ignored._

"_In the end, you will always kneel." Loki's reflection grinned, but Loki himself looked away. He seemed so… sad. Defeated._

_For some reason this was enough to make Tony angry. Not just angry, really pissed. No one treated Loki like that, not even Loki himself. He wasn't sure why he was getting so defensive, but he didn't question it. He raised his hand to the mirror to blast the thing to tiny shards with his repulsor, but Loki turned around and held his hands up._

"_No, Stark! I am nothing without him."_

_Him? The Loki in the reflection? But they were two different people! Tony opened his mouth to protest, but he found that all he could do was cough._

"Stark."_ Loki said, becoming rather fuzzy and indistinct. Tony could see that Loki's reflection was smirking malevolently before it too became fuzzy. The stars were beginning to fade._

"Stark, can you hear me?"

Tony's eyes snapped open and he realized that he was lying on the floor with Loki's shadow looming over him. His memory quickly came back as he turned over and coughed again. Thankfully, the pain in his chest had vanished. Had he been dreaming? Freud would have a field day with something like that, the symbolism was rampant. He couldn't help but wonder, though, if any part of such an odd vision had some truth to it. Something else had dawned on him as well; Loki had mentioned Natasha. Tony couldn't understand the Chitauri, but Loki had been implying that Tasha was… No, he didn't want to think about the possibility.

"How long have I been out?" he rasped, looking back at Loki. He tried to sit up, but the trickster had him firmly pinned to the ground with his hand on Tony's chest.

"A few minutes at the most. How do you feel?"

That was a strange question… coming from Loki it seemed particularly out of place. Did he really _care? _"I feel alive, which is probably a good thing. What did you do?"

"As intelligent as you are, Stark, I doubt even _you _would understand the intricacies of magic." He grinned and leaned back, giving Tony some room. "I'd like to give you time to recover, but I'm afraid we haven't any time to spare."

"Why's th-" Tony was cut off abruptly by the sound of doors opening and a cacophony of footsteps heading in their direction. Steve and Bruce were the first to appear. The captain had drawn his weapon and had it pointed at Loki as soon as he set his eyes on the scene. The rest of the team emerged shortly after, all in mixed states of shock and panic. Thor somehow managed to make his way past the rest of the group to stand next to his brother, much to Loki's dismay. Thankfully, Fury had already gone back to the Helicarrier, and Pepper stayed upstairs.

"Would you put that thing down before someone gets hurt, Rogers?" Loki snapped, scowling at the group. Apparently they hadn't been fully informed on the situation. Tony could see how this could be misleading, what with the Chitauri already gone and Loki kneeling above him like a hawk.

"Jarvis, you seriously didn't tell them what happened down here?" he said, sitting up without Loki holding him down this time. The sudden rush of dizziness made him understand why the trickster had insisted he stay down in the first place. Tony was really getting sick of being incapacitated in some manner; he made a mental note to take Pepper on an extremely long, safe vacation after all of this was over. Maybe they could go somewhere he wasn't likely to get beat down by aliens in.

"No sir, I wasn't exactly aware of the situation myself. I will better inform them next time, sir."

Tony snorted at the A.I.'s response and looked up at the group. "It's alright, it was the Chitauri, not Loki."

Steve lowered his gun immediately. "Sorry, force of habit. What happened?"

"That_ thing _was intruding on my systems. Well, we didn't know that when we came down here, but yeah, he was messing around with my stuff." He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Still don't know what it wanted though. Maybe it was just playing with us."

"Actually, that's not quite correct." Everyone's eyes were on Loki. "It did mention what it was after-"

"Wait, you can understand it?" Bruce said, looking more amazed than disturbed by this.

"We do not speak languages in the way you do," Thor said as Loki stood up, placing a hand over his injured shoulder and beginning to mend it with magic. "We speak the All-tongue, we can understand nearly any language."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'd always wondered why Loki was speaking to a huge crowd of Germans in _English_ last year, I just kind of assumed he was an idiot."

"Go on Loki, what did the thing say?" Steve asked, achieving the highest level of civility Tony had ever seen in the soldier with regard to Loki. Perhaps the captain was finally accepting his presence.

"It wants to find a way to finish what it started. If it can open a portal to the rest of the Chitauri without the tesseract, it's going to do it. It also thinks it'll be able to obtain the tesseract from Asgard once it's done with Midgard."

There was a pause, in which everyone looked at each other with quite confused expressions. Bruce spoke up again. "That isn't possible, is it? The Chitauri would need massive amounts of energy to achieve the same sort of portal, and without the tesseract it won't be able to just find the technology on Earth…"

Loki sighed wearily. "That's not true either. The technology has already been created here on Midgard, you mortals simply don't know how to make it function."

"Where is it then?" Steve said, asking the question that was already on everyone's mind.

Tony could have sworn he saw Loki look at Thor, if only for a second. "It was built by Jane Foster and Erik Selvig, and it remains in their keeping."

The room went quiet. Getting Thor upset was nearly as bad as angering Bruce, though perhaps Thor didn't have as much control over his emotional state as Bruce did. The news of his pretty little human being in any sort of danger would certainly hit Thor hard. Surprisingly though, he took the news well.

"If we know where the vile creature is going, then we shall get there first. It will not stand a chance against our combined might." Thor lifted his hammer victoriously, as if they had already won. Everyone else seemed to agree with him, but Loki was still looking somber.

"As nice as that would be," Loki said, turning to face Thor fully this time, "The Chitauri also mentioned that we only have a few hours before its explosives detonate somewhere in the city, where we will also find Agent Romanoff."

Dead silence. So Natasha was alive? The relief at the knowledge was only momentary, as the detonation of explosives in Manhattan was among the worst scenarios anyone could imagine. Tony stood up, using the console behind him for support.

"That's going to have to be our top priority then." Steve said, giving Thor an apologetic look. Now Thor truly did seem upset. It couldn't have been easy for him to just leave Jane at the mercy of the Chitauri while they dealt with a more pressing matter, but they weren't about to leave the city on its own. Not to mention Natasha was still in danger.

"I could fly ahead while you deal with the threat in the city. Surely you don't need me for some explosives." Thor said confidently, looking at Steve as if he was challenging the captain to disagree.

Steve sighed and looked around at the others. "I'm sorry Thor, but… I think we should stick together on this one. Every time one of us has gone off alone we've run into trouble. I'll admit, I should have listened to Tony."

Well that was the most satisfying thing Tony had heard all day. "That's alright Capsicle, no use living in the past. We should get moving if we're going to prevent horrible stuff from happening, though."

Thor looked ready to object, but Loki wouldn't let him. "I know this Jane Foster is important to you, but stop and think for a moment. You care for your mortal realm, yes?" Thor nodded, looking at Loki. "Well then, we shall have to protect it. I am sure it is possible for these 'S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to warn Foster and Selvig before we can get to them anyway."

Clint offered a curt nod. "S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps tabs on people like Jane and Erik, we know how to get to them." He paused, quietly adding, "Could we get going, maybe?" As if in unspoken agreement, the team began heading back the way they had come.

Tony was surprised to say the very least. He had never expected such behavior from Loki, particularly in regard to Thor. Could it be that the trickster was actually willing to sympathize with his brother? The thought seemed absurd, but perhaps this brief interaction between princes of Asgard was a window to a far off past, one where these two vastly different individuals had truly been brothers. As Steve led the group back to the elevator and Tony stumbled along (still quite disoriented, whether from injury or the magic that continued to make his skin tingle, he wasn't sure), he couldn't help but wonder what these Asgardians used to be like. He decided he'd have to ask Loki later. Granted, childhood was probably a sore subject for him, but Tony was far too curious (and too reckless) to avoid the subject.

Tony would also have to build bigger elevators in the next extravagant building he frivolously threw money at. Six people might not usually make for a horrible elevator experience, but with Thor and Steve taking up more space than humanly necessary and everyone trying to find their own pocket of space where they wouldn't have to touch anyone else (the Avengers weren't _that_ close) it was a bit cramped.

"Bruce," he said, breaking the silence, "I'm kinda happy you come in two different sizes right about now."

Clint and Steve snickered while Thor produced what could only be described as a guffaw, making things all the funnier. Even Loki cracked a smile. This was how Tony preferred things to be; calm and tension-free.

Bruce fidgeted under the attention and smiled rather uncertainly. "Yeah, well… Lucky for you I get to choose what size I come in. Most of the time, anyway." Tony grinned. Bruce was always such a good sport.

"Hey Tony." Clint said as the elevator reached its destination back in the general living room area, "Before Pepper sees you, you should probably know you look like shit."

"And here I thought you were going to tell me that I'm pretty." Tony answered with a dramatic sigh, prompting another round of snickering and an eye roll from the resident villain. Now that he thought about it, he probably _did _look horrible despite the fact that he felt much better. Whatever Loki had done with his magic left him feeling perfectly healthy, though he hadn't quite gotten rid of the taste of blood yet. Looking down he realized the front of his shirt was stained with blood as well. Though he was taking it lightly, Tony was beginning to wonder exactly how badly he'd been injured. He could guess from his not-inconsiderable knowledge of anatomy that he'd punctured a lung. Or two. He'd have to thank Loki later. Speaking of the trickster, Loki's armor was covered in blood too, though Tony saw that he'd healed himself as well.

They looked like battle partners. If only Tony was wearing Asgardian garb, they'd be the most ridiculously awesome duo that ever existed. Well, according to the part of his mind that was still a child anyway. Looking at the brothers, Tony found himself wondering how often Loki and Thor had fought side-by-side. From what little he'd heard of Thor's stories, they used to 'adventure' together often in their youth. It was difficult to imagine they could have traveled such different paths since then.

The doors slid open and everyone piled out, focused once again on the task at hand. Explosives. Natasha. A few hours left. Right. The group gathered in the little area full of sofas in the middle of his spacious living room while Tony poured himself a glass of completely non-alcoholic water.

"How did this creature obtain explosives?" Thor asked as everyone sat down. Loki elected to stand over by the window, avoiding everyone's gaze. _Drama queen._

"Probably found them at S.H.I.E.L.D. There was a ton of crazy technology down there." Clint offered, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling.

Bruce nodded in affirmation. "It could be old Hydra technology, or the leftover Phase Two weaponry…"

Tony pondered this. "If it's either of those, we can-"

But before he could complete his sentence, Pepper stormed into the room looking absolutely irate. "Tony _Stark_!"

Oh no. Where had she come from? Tony had hoped she would be busy elsewhere, but apparently he wasn't that lucky. He hadn't even gotten a chance to change shirts. Damn it. "Yes Pepper dear?"

"You really need to stop doing this, Tony! Jarvis told me what happened, you can't keep running off and getting into trouble. Honestly, it's like living with a child around you!"

"Pepper, I'm-"

"No excuses, I'm sick of worrying about you. I know you have things to do, but-"

"Pep…"

"Could you at least _try _to be careful? I know that's a lot to ask of _you, _but could you just-"

"_Pepper_!" he said, utilizing Thor-quality volume, "I'm sorry and I love you and all that, but can we please have this conversation later? We're busy avenging."

Pepper glared, but she seemed to understand by everyone's expressions that this was indeed a serious matter and that Tony would be free to chastise after their little meeting. She narrowed her eyes at him and pointed a finger at his face. "Watch yourself, Tony."

He gave her a hasty nod and she stalked off, no doubt to make another business call. He felt slightly guilty that the business aspects of Stark Industries were still on her shoulders, but most of the time she actually enjoyed it. Who was he to get in her way?

It took him a moment to realize that everyone was staring at him. How _rude._

"Did he just say the 'L' word?" Clint asked in hushed tones, looking to the others for confirmation.

"Which one? 'Love' or 'later'?" Bruce inquired, grinning at Clint.

"_Okay, _back to the point." Tony said hurriedly, feeling the warmth of a blush on his cheeks. Yes, he loved Pepper. He really, truly adored her, but that wasn't the kind of thing he liked to talk about. He wasn't ashamed or embarrassed, it was just… Weird. "As I was saying," he continued, "If the Chitauri Hydra or Phase Two tech, we can track it. That stuff gives off distinct gamma signatures."

"Can we be certain this is the technology our enemy used?" Thor asked.

"Well, no," Bruce offered, "But it's our best guess and we should go with it. There wasn't much in that bunker that _wouldn't _be traceable anyway, so it'd be reasonable to just start looking for energy signatures."

"Good, because we don't have any time to spare." Steve declared. "Stark, Doctor Banner, get to work on tracking down our target. Agent Barton, Thor, Loki, get yourselves ready to leave. I'm calling Fury, we'll need a quinjet." And with that, Tony and Bruce set to work (with all due haste) on tracking down the latest thing that threatened to blow their peaceful city to bits. They could only hope they would have enough time.

Finding the signal didn't take long at all, which was a good thing considering it had been at least a half hour since they'd fought off the Chitauri, and the alien had told them they only had hours to spare. Did that mean two? Five? Were they down to _one_? Either way, they found the signal.

Loki stood back and watched while the scientists analyzed their data, partially distracted by wounds that, though mended by magic, had refused to heal completely. He was a conjuror, not a healer. It was miracle enough that Stark was alive, but he'd been particularly focused in Tony's case. This mortal was really beginning to grow on him, as much as he hated to concede such a thing even to himself. All feelings of hatred and desires for revenge were slowly beginning to fade, and whether Loki realized it or not, he was beginning to like working with this team. There was solace in being amongst these people, even if he was woefully alone most of the time.

He couldn't help but notice that the team looked exhausted. It was no wonder too, considering how long they had been kept from sleep by this single Chitauri. Even Loki was feeling the strain by now, and he could see it in Thor as well.

"We have the signal now, at least…" Bruce muttered as he looked at the large projection in the middle of the room, featuring a two dimensional map of the city and a flashing point of light that represented their target. "But it's not staying in one place."

Stark nodded, watching the little point slowly make its way around the city. "That doesn't make much sense. What if…" He trailed off and turned the projection on its side with a gesture, so the map was now laid out horizontally in front of them. With another visual cue from the inventor, the holographic city stretched itself out and became three dimensional. Every little building was detailed perfectly. The little point of light, as it turns out, was underground and following what looked like a system of tunnels.

"I had kinda hoped I would be wrong, but it looks like I wasn't." Stark observed, looking to the rest of the team. "The explosives are somewhere in the subway."

"Subway?" Thor asked, looking inquisitive. Loki was interested as well; he'd never seen what the mortals called a 'subway' before.

"Yeah, underground transportation. You know, I'm really getting _sick _of being underground." Tony said, exasperated.

"What are we waiting for then?" Clint demanded, "Let's go!"

"Keep your tights on, Legolas, we're going." Tony grinned and gave Clint a wink.

As the group made their way to the quinjet waiting outside (and Stark went off to get his armor) Thor leaned over to Loki and lowered his voice. "Brother, I'm still not sure what this 'subway' is."

The trickster looked at Thor. "Nor am I, but I suppose we're about to find out."

_**Yes, **_**they're going to find Natasha, but I have a surprise for you. You'll have to wait to find out!**

**~Nightlance**


End file.
